Iran Expects to Attract $20bln in Foreign Oil Investment: Deputy Oil Minister
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An Iranian deputy oil minister said the country expects to draw $20 billion in foreign investment following introduction of the new format of Iran's oil contracts.
"We shall put up exploration deals on tender. We do not know the exact days, as the talks with those interested are in progress, as is price negotiating, but we expect the exploration to start in the beginning of next year… we hope that the investments will exceed $20 billion, many companies have already shown interest in investing in the Iranian oil market," Rokneddin Javadi, deputy oil minister and managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), told Sputnik on Saturday.
A major conference was opened in Tehran on Saturday during which Iran unveiled 50 oil and gas projects worth $185 billion for development through foreign investment.
Representatives of 137 companies, including British Petroleum (BP), Italy’s Eni, Russia’s Gaz Prom, Gaz Prom Neft and Lukoil, Indian Oil Corporation, Denmark’s Maersk, Malaysia’s Petronas, France’s Total, and the UAE’s Shell EP International were present in the two-day conference in Tehran.
Besides the meeting, another conference is scheduled to be held in the British capital of London on February 22 to 24, 2016 to introduce Iran's attractive oil contract models to European investors.
Such conferences are to provide the perfect platform to discuss Iran’s re-entry to the global energy arena.
Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14 reached a conclusion over the text of a comprehensive 159-page deal on Tehran’s nuclear program.
The comprehensive nuclear deal between Iran and the six powers would terminate all nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran after coming into force, and help the country return to the global market.
Experts believe that Iran’s economic growth would rise remarkably after the final nuclear deal takes effect.
