Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 1
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Iran's government will study the framework of Iran’s new oil and gas contract (IPC) model this week, the country’s oil minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, said.
The framework which was already approved by the country's top economic advisory body, the Resistance Economy Headquarters, will be discussed during the upcoming session of the government on Aug. 3, Zanganeh said, the oil ministry’s SHANA news agency reported.
Zanganeh expressed hope that the new oil contract model will be approved by the government.
Once approved, it will be submitted to the parliament for final approval, he added.
The Resistance Economy Headquarters, chaired by Iran's first vice president Eshaq Jahangiri approved the IPC July 12 after some amendments.
In 2015, the Iranian Oil Ministry unveiled its new oil contracts called IPC ( Iran Petroleum Contracts) aimed at luring foreign funds and technology. To get an IPC contract, foreign companies must find an Iranian partner. The IPC allows foreigners to have a share in production, but they wouldn't have any share in reserves.
Iranian hardliners oppose the idea of IPC, saying that it is against the national interests, but foreign companies, including France's Total, have said repeatedly that the older type of Iranian oil and gas contracts are not attractive anymore.