According to the report by the oil ministry’s news website Shana on Monday, 29 companies, including Shell, France’s Total, Italy’s Eni, Malaysia’s Petronas and Russia’s Gazprom and Lukoil, as well as companies from China, Austria, Japan and other countries, will be allowed to invest in the Islamic Republic’s oil and gas projects under Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) model.
Major absentees were Britain’s BP as well as Norway’s Statoil.
Back in August, President Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet approved an amended draft of the new model for oil and gas contracts. on September 17, Iran’s parliament gave the go-ahead to the government to put its new model into effect.
The new amendments were endorsed after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei stressed that no new oil and gas contracts for international companies would be awarded without necessary reforms.
The new oil and investment contract for international firms, known as the Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC), will replace Iran’s buyback oil deals.
Iran worked on the oil contract model for two years.
