Desperate to attract technology and investment back to its stalled oil and gas sector, Iranian officials are pushing the limits with the terms they will offer IOCs in any post-sanctions opening. They face not only skepticism from the firms themselves but also a backlash from conservative factions in Tehran.Iran’s Oil Ministry this week welcomed executives from several foreign oil companies to Tehran for further discussions about the Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) – a new generation of upstream investment contract the country has been developing over the past 18 months, as part of the current administration’s push to breathe new life into its oil and gas sector.
After close to a decade of rampant mismanagement, corruption and sanctions-related under-investment, President Hassan Rohani made the rehabilitation of the oil and gas sector, the lifeblood of the Iranian economy, one of his government’s top priorities. Many believe the eight years in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was in office put the country on the path to economic ruin and confrontation with the international community; it has been up to the Rohani government to pull it back from the brink. (CONTINUED - 1689 WORDS)
