Iran unveils draft model of new oil contracts

The Iranian Oil Ministry unveiled the draft model of its new oil contracts aimed at attracting more foreign companies to develop Iran’s hydrocarbon reservoirs. The “Iran Petroleum Contract” (IPC) was unveiled in Tehran on Sunday by Mehdi Hosseini, who heads an Oil Ministry-appointed committee to revise oil contracts, press tv reported. “In the new contracts, different stages of the petroleum industry (exploration, development and production) are commissioned in an integrated manner,” Hosseini told a forum organized to introduce new oil contracts. He said the IPC is replacing “buy-back” contracts which, he added, are no longer attractive to foreign companies. Under a buy-back deal, the host government agrees to pay the contractor an agreed price for all volumes of hydrocarbons the contractor produces. But under the IPC, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) will set up joint ventures for crude oil and gas production with international companies which will be paid with a share of the output. Hosseini, however, said that “ownership of reservoirs is not transferable.” “Under new contracts, Iranian experts will work shoulder-to-shoulder with foreign investment companies in order to become familiar with the latest technologies of the world,” he said. Hosseini said the new contracts seek to raise the recovery factor of Iranian oil fields, half of which are in their maturity period. Iran’s Oil Ministry plans to hold a conference in London in July to introduce the new contract terms to international companies. World oil giants have shown interest in returning to Iran following the easing of sanctions against Iran in light of the implementation of Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.