Since the beginning of the 13^th government, contracts for development of seven oil and gas fields worth 4.5 billion dollars have been signed with reputable domestic and foreign companies, and according to the oil industry officials, more than 10 Memorandums of Understanding have been signed in this regard.

According to Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company’s CEO, Reza Noshadi, Ilam Province is one of the provinces with high potentials in the field of oil and gas and development of various gas projects, including development of phase two of Ilam Refinery and Bankul and Babaghir reservoirs, has been on the agenda of National Iranian Gas Company.

The CEO of Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company also announced company's plan to develop Babaghir field in the vicinity of Bankul field and mentioned that as a result of the development of this field, 15 million cubic meters of gas will be produced daily, which, due to the need to build a refinery next to it, will lead to expansion of job opportunities in Ilam Province.

After the issuance of the project implementation license, it was found that 230 trees are located within the project implementation route and must be cut down inevitably. However, Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company, considering its responsibility towards protection of the nature, after a series of intensive meetings with the contractor, asked for a solution to minimize the disruption to the nature. As a result, the route to the project was changed and the number of trees that need to be cut down was reduced to 80.