Iran is planning to attract some $185 billion to the oil and gas sector through a new model of oil contracts, Trend quoted Iran's deputy oil minister for international affairs as saying.
Amir Hossein Zamaninia further said that attracting foreign investments mainly depends on political and economic conditions, while Iran believes that Iran Petroleum Contracts (IPC) is very attractive from the standpoint of investment environment of the country, domestic stability, security and high profits.
"Profits from investments in petrochemical projects in Iran exceed 25 percent," he added.
Iran had earlier presented new models of contracts for developing 49 oil and gas fields in the country. IPC type of oil contracts was developed with an aim to increase attractiveness of oil projects for foreign investors. IPC offers contractors different stages of exploration, development and production.
The first IPC is expected to be signed in the coming months. IPC is considered to be a cornerstone of the country's plan to raise crude production to the pre-sanctions level of four million barrels per day.
Iran's Cabinet recently passed a regulation governing the general conditions, structure and terms of the IPC Regulation. Parties to the IPC will be the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and a consortium of oil companies (Contractor).
The regulation envisages three types of IPC including contracts for exploration, development and production, developing existing discoveries and improvement of oil extraction at existing fields.
Iran's oil industry will require $200 billion in investment to develop in the coming years, mostly from outside the country, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said earlier.
"We need $200 billion of investment...to reach our development goals," Zanganeh said. "We will receive $15 billion-$20 billion from the National Development Fund, but internal resources are not enough for our needs," he added.
Iran holds the world's fourth-largest proved crude oil reserves and the world's second-largest natural gas reserves. Despite its abundant reserves, Iran's crude oil production has substantially declined, and natural gas production growth has been slower than expected over the past few years.
International sanctions have profoundly affected Iran's energy sector and have prompted a number of cancellations or delays in upstream oil and gas projects.
The country reportedly needs to attract $501 billion by 2025 for its upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas projects.
