The Iranian government will ratify a new model oil contract this week, which it hopes will finally bring international investment into the country to redevelop its post-sanctions petroleum sector, oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said Sunday.
"Hopefully this week, on Wednesday the government's approval [for the new model upstream contract] will come out and then it goes through final stages of preparation. It is moving forward," Zanganeh said, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Tehran celebrating the 50th anniversary of establishment of the National Iranian Gas Co.
The new Iran Petroleum contract, a form of technical service agreement, will replace Iran's traditional buyback contract, and the government hopes it will help boost output by 1 million b/d, by attracting advanced technical and management know-how to the Islamic Republic -- something sorely missing over the past decade.
The buyback formula it had been using for years has failed to attract investors who are looking for longer participation in a developed field or a greater interest.
Zanganeh told the reporters that data sets have already been provided to a number of oil companies, mostly European and Asian, which will allow them to prepare in advance of the tender launches. However, the oil ministry is yet to finalize its plans for the tenders for new oil field development projects.
"A first round of tenders with a large number of projects... It's not fixed. We may put them out one-by-one. Shared oil and gas fields development and recovery rate enhancement projects, they will be both prioritized," he said.
"There are talks going on with potential foreign partners who in the event of finalizing an investment deal would work with non-state companies. These investors are working on deals and carrying out feasibility studies. They are looking into appropriate investment opportunities and we on our side must prepare the ground for them and not scare them away," he added.
Zanganeh has previously said the priority would be on shared fields, such as South Azadegan and the offshore South Pars and Farzad gas fields.
The OPEC member is targeting output of 4 million b/d next year. The oil ministry told the producer group it produced 3.610 million b/d in June, according to the latest data.
Exports were as high as 2.56 million b/d, Zanganeh said.
