Foreign firms can submit their documents to the National Iranian Oil Company as of next week to qualify for bidding in oil and gas tenders, Ali Kardor, NIOC's managing director said.
"As a legal procedure, we will call on international exploration and production (E&P) companies as well as international oil companies (IOCs) to submit their credentials, technical, financial information … to NIOC," Kardor was quoted as saying by Shana, the Oil Ministry's official news agency.
Iran has said it will vet international companies who want to take part in its key energy sector under a new model of contracts premised on easing foreign investment and transfer of technology.
"NIOC will release a shortlist of foreign companies eligible for bidding in oil and gas tenders," he added.
Under the new contractual framework, known as Iran Petroleum Contract, foreign contractors should partner with an Iranian firm in oil and gas development projects and share their knowhow.
Tehran issued a list of some 50 oil and gas projects for development under the IPC framework last year. It hopes to sign two or three deals with multinationals by the yearend. IPC has already got the backing of senior officials and organizations over the past several weeks following criticism of the contractual framework by the political opponents of the government.
Last month, Kardor signaled that the giant South Azadegan Oilfield will be the first among dozens of oil/gas projects to be tendered. Located 80 kilometers west of Ahvaz in oil-rich Khuzestan Province, the shared field with Iraq holds an estimated 33 billion barrels of oil in place.
French energy firm Total S.A. and the China National Petroleum Corporation reportedly have shown strong interest in the sought-after oilfield.
Iran is planning to regain the share it lost in the international oil market under the nuclear-related sanctions that targeted its key industrial and energy sectors.
The country aims to boost its combined crude oil and gas condensates production to 5.8 million bpd in five years. It is now pumping 3.85 million bpd, according to government data.
------- South Pars Interest
Total and two other companies have expressed interest in developing Phase 11 of South Pars Gas Field, Mehr News Agency quoted Kardor as saying on Friday.
"Despite the proposals, Phase 11 is not yet awarded to any contractor," Kardor said. According to Mehr, the unnamed foreign companies are likely to be South Korea's Hyundai and Italian oil and gas giant Eni.
South Pars is the world's largest gas field shared between Iran and Qatar in the Persian Gulf.
Kardor stressed that Phase 11 will be part of the Iran's international oil and gas tenders. According to reports, Eni has made a $4 billion proposal to develop the phase in three years.
CNPC signed a $4.7-billion contract in 2009 to develop Phase 11, replacing Total, but it was pulled out of the project in 2012 after failing to meet its contractual obligations.
A string of South Pars phases have come on stream in recent years, boosting Iran's gas production from the field to more than 400 million cubic meters per day.
