Iran Plans to Float Tenders for 17 Oil, Gas Blocks

Iran is planning to floats tenders for 17 newly explored oil and gas blocks as Tehran prepares to unveil a new type of oil contracts, reported Shana News quoting a top official.

“Of 40 exploration blocks..., 17 blocks are ready [to be introduced] when the new oil contracts are to be unveiled in London,” Hormuz Qalavand, director of exploration at National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), said adding that alongside these blocks, all development and exploration blocks are to be introduced simultaneous with the introduction of Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC).

Qalavand said NIOC has been in talks with top European companies in order to attract them back into Iran, Shana reported. 

A petroleum ministry committee has been working on modifying the terms of oil contracts in order to sweeten them for foreign companies. The new model, IPC, is replacing buyback deals.

According to Shana, under a buyback deal, the host government agrees to pay the contractor an agreed price for all volumes of hydrocarbons the contractor produces. But under the IPC, 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.