Iran offers 52 oil and gas development projects to foreign investors

Iran has offered 52 new oil and gas development projects to be developed by foreign investors with local partners.

The projects announced at the Tehran IPC Conference are estimated to be worth more than $30bn.

They include 29 new and currently producing oilfields, as well as 23 gas developments, including 34 onshore fields.

An integrated petroleum contract (IPC) scheme will replace the buyback deals under which the government will pay an agreed price to the contractor for all volumes of hydrocarbons produced.

Iran Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh told reporters that companies in the US will also get an opportunity to participate in IPCs, under which foreign investors should have local partners and commit to technology transfer.

Iran wants Western oil companies to help renew its old oilfields, in addition to developing new oil and gas projects.

Companies that attended the conference include British Petroleum, Total, Statoil, Sinopec, Shell, Eni Repsol.

US Energy Information Administration data revealed that Iran’s oil exports last year declined to an average 1.4 million barrels a day from 2.6 million in 2011 due to the sanctions on the country.