Iran is set to sign major oil and gas deals with foreign companies in the second half of 2017, Homayoon Falakshahi said Tuesday in an interview in London, according to Bloomberg.
The first oil under the agreements will flow in 2020, he added, noting that Iran should finalize the terms of the new contracts, known as the IPC, by the end of 2016.
“It comes down to how good the new contracts are,” Falakshahi said.
“It’s more likely they will still remain very tough; we are probably going to see a few deals but I don’t think we are going to see a huge inflow of companies.”
The new oil and investment contract for international firms, known as the Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC), will replace Iran’s buyback oil deals. Under a buyback deal, the host government agrees to pay the contractor an agreed price for all volumes of hydrocarbons the contractor produces.
Iran worked on the oil contract model for two years. The country hopes to draw as much as $50 billion a year from major oil companies such as Italy’s Eni SpA and France’s Total to develop its oil and gas fields.