A general view of a unit of South Pars Gas field in Asalouyeh Seaport, north of the Gulf. Iran’s new oil industry investment contract for international oil firms will be ready by July, a senior Oil Ministry official was quoted as saying yesterday by Iranian state TV. “The new contracts will be ready in June, July ... We welcome investors from all countries,” Deputy Oil Minister Rokneddin Javadi said. Some 135 companies including BP, Total, Italy’s Eni and Spain’s Repsol attended a conference in Tehran in November to hear about the new Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) but its launch has been postponed several times. Hardline rivals of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani have criticised the IPC, which would end a buy-back system dating back more than 20 years under which foreign firms have been banned from booking reserves or taking equity stakes in Iranian companies.
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