Industry figures from across the globe – excluding the United States – descended on Tehran on 28 November for the eagerly anticipated launch of the new Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC). Although the presence of representatives from global international oil companies (IOCs) underlined the keen interest these firms have in securing acreage in Iran, the opportunity is bittersweet. The introduction of new Iranian barrels into the market has the potential to further exacerbate the oversupply of oil in global markets and drive prices down further.
While the key details of the IPC have been in the public domain for more than a year, the Tehran Summit marked a key milestone on Iran’s re-emergence onto the global oil and gas scene. Despite the absence of US firms due to their own government’s ongoing terrorism-related sanctions, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh told the conference that US oil companies are welcome to invest in Iran’s oil and gas sector. (CONTINUED - 1868 WORDS)
