Iran’s oil minister Bijan Zanganeh will soon present a long-awaited template for new international oil contracts to the government, as foreign companies watch for a nuclear deal that could allow them into a major untapped market.

Iran is in the final stages of negotiations with world powers on its disputed nuclear programme. A deal could remove international sanctions within months, opening one of the world’s top energy producers to foreign investment.

“The oil minister will soon lay out the new model for Iran’s international oil contracts to the council of ministers,” Mehdi Hosseini, head of Iran’s Oil Contracts Revision Committee, was quoted as saying by the official energy news agency Shana.

The new contracts will integrate exploration, production and development processes, encourage foreign companies to invest in high-risk areas, and promote technology transfer and financial transparency, Shana reported.

Reuters reported in February that Iran had sweetened the terms of its international oil contracts to draw much-needed foreign investment to a sector that has stagnated since it was targeted with a new round of sanctions in 2012.

Since then, international oil and trading companies including Shell and Glencore have sent delegations to Tehran, laying the groundwork for possible investments if and when sanctions are lifted.

The new contract format is expected to be formally announced at a conference in London in November.

Source: Reuters