Official: Iranian, Foreign Companies to Cooperate in New Oil Contracts
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian oil official said the country plans to turn the local oil firms into giant international companies by encouraging their cooperation with foreign companies in new oil contracts due to be signed between Tehran and foreign sides.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Seyed Mehdi Hosseini, the head of committee to review Iran's oil contracts, said in new oil contracts between Iran and foreign sides, the Iranian oil companies will work with their foreign counterparts.
he said the Iranian oil industry is a century old industry, but the country still lacks an international oil company.
"The deficiency will be removed through signing new types of oil contracts," he stated.
"We must make up for that deficiency by implementing a new type of contracts, so that in the course of the next few years we would witness international oil companies (in Iran)."
That is while a senior Iranian oil official announced on Feb. 8 that efforts to review Iran's oil contracts to facilitate conditions for investment in oil industry are in final stages.
Speaking to Tasnim News Agency, Deputy Oil Minister for International and Commercial Affairs Ali Majedi said Iran will unveil new generation of oil contracts to attract foreign investments.
“The move to review the oil contracts was aimed at making them more attractive and facilitating the conditions for investments and a new generation of oil contracts will be unveiled to attract foreign investments,” Majedi said.
He further announced that the conference on new oil contracts due to be held in Tehran this March and a second conference in London this spring to introduce the new contracts, will seek grounds to attract big oil companies to Iran.
Earlier, Majedi had announced on Feb.5 that major French oil and gas companies, such as Total, Technip and Gaz de France, have expressed willingness to cooperate with Iran on energy projects.
