Official: UK Firms Ready for Tehran Oil Contract Conference

UK trade and economic companies are going to have a considerable participation in the upcoming conference for unveiling Iran’s new oil and gas contracts which will be held in Tehran next month, said Petroleum Ministry’s director general for Europe, US, and Caspian Sea Neighbors, AVA Diplomatic reports.

“They are interested in exploration, manufacturing of equipment, and international law and hopeful to return to Iran’s market as soon as possible based on the past cooperation between the two countries,” Hossein Esmaeili told Shana following a meeting on Monday with the visiting delegation from the British-Iranian Chamber of Commerce (BICC)

The Iranian and British delegations were headed by Esmaeili , and Richard Dalton, BICC president and former British Ambassador in Tehran respectively.

The visiting 24-member team is the UK’s first trade delegation to Iran after a nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers in July for negotiating resumption of ties in the wake of removal of sanctions.

In addition to the Iranian oil and gas sector, meetings are scheduled between BICC and Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines, private banking and the legal sectors.

Last week, the Iranian cabinet approved the Petroleum Ministry’s draft international contracts by endorsing the general terms, organization, and pattern of the new upstream oil and gas documents introduced as Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC).

Increasing of oil and gas production capacity especially in joint fields, adoption of modern procedures, signing contracts with authorized companies in exploration, development, and production from oil and gas fields, and attraction of foreign investment are to be achieved within IPC framework.

Earlier, Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said the main conference on introducing Iran’s new oil contracts will convene in the near future in Tehran.

 “The new oil contracts and the projects to be developed within their scope will be introduced to foreign investors in a conference in Tehran in month of Aban (Oct 23 – Nov 21),” he told Shana.

Saying that venue of the main event which was due to be held in London has been shifted to Tehran, the minister added, “The companies that cannot make it in Tehran, can participate in the subsequent London conference.”

The Tehran event is expected to be embraced by foreign firms longing for participation in Iran’s oil industry in the post-sanction era.

 “More than cash or using the technology, we would like to have their advanced technology to be transferred to domestic companies,” the minister stressed.

Following the nuclear deal in July, Iran has hosted high-ranking officials and corporate executives of major companies from Germany, Spain, Austria, Italy, and France to discuss new cooperation ventures.

British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond visited Iran last August, the first by a minister after 12 years of low-profile relations, during which he also met Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh.

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, Britain’s second most powerful man, will reportedly lead a trade delegation to Iran next year in the wake of the lifting of anti-Iran sanctions.

“Next year I would love to lead a proper, big economic and trade delegation to Iran,” Financial Times quoted him saying.

The oil giant British Petroleum and Anglo-Dutch multi-national oil and gas company Royal-Dutch Shell have said they are ready for presence in Iran’s projects.

In the meantime, Britain has announced its readiness to pay Iran’s share of revenues in the North Sea gas field of Rhum that it owns with Iran after sanctions are lifted, said Amir-Hossein Zamani, the ministry’s deputy for international affairs and commerce.

The Rhum field, 250 miles off Scotland’s northeast coast, is one the UK’s most important North Sea gasfields.

Last year, BP said it restarted production at the field nearly four years after the oil major was forced to halt output because of sanctions against Iran in 2010.

Prior to its closure, Rhum contributed around 4¬5 percent of Britain’s total gas output.