An energy analyst says the framework of Iran's revised oil contracts, which will be unveiled later this month, will put Iranian and international companies in an equally competitive position to land lucrative projects in the Persian Gulf country's emerging energy sector after the removal of sanctions.
"There will be no favoritism between domestic and foreign firms in the new round of the Iran's oil projects," Ali Moradi told ILNA in an interview.
Major domestic and international companies are expected to attend a conference in the capital Tehran on November 28-29 in which the government will lift the curtain on the terms of its new, long-anticipated oil deals, officially known as the Iran Petroleum Contract.
Referring to the lifting of sanctions as a significant opportunity for economic growth, he said, "Previous contracts had certain drawbacks that discouraged contractors. However, the Oil Ministry worked out a new contract to be profitable for both contractors and the employer."
Iran and six world powers reached a historic deal on July 14 in Vienna that would limit the country’s nuclear program in return for removing sanctions on its energy and financial industries.
Since March 2014, the Oil Contracts Revision Committee Group, a subsidiary of the Oil Ministry, was expected to hold an international seminar on Iran's oil and gas industry and its potentials for a post-sanctions era.
According to Iranian oil officials, Tehran has sweetened the terms of the new contract to attract billions of dollars in foreign direct investment for up to 50 oil exploration and production projects, and revised some of the drawbacks of previous oil contracts, such as the terms of the buyback contracts.
