TEHRAN - Iran has left the development of two oilfields to the energy giant British Petroleum (BP), an informed source told the Tasnim News Agency on the condition of anonymity.

The announcement is a follow-up to the September meeting between Iranian Oil Ministry officials and BP top managers, where the Iranian side headed by Amir Hossein Zamani Nia, the deputy oil minister for international affairs and trade, agreed to transfer the development of two oilfields to BP based on the new model of Iranian oil contracts, known as Integrated Petroleum Contract (IPC), which is due to be unveiled soon.

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said in August that the new model for oil contracts allows access to regional and international markets and paves the way for long-term strategic cooperation with major companies.

""First, the new contracts will be unveiled in Tehran in the middle of the month of Aban (which starts on October 23),"" Shana quoted Iran's Deputy Oil Minister Rokneddin Javadi as saying.

According to Mehdi Hosseini, the head of Iran's Oil Contracts Revision Committee, the new model will propose longer duration contracts relative to the previous “buyback” ones. 

Lured with the prospect of post-sanctions Iran, BP and other energy giants such as Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Eni have rushed to talks with Iranian officials to be the first in line for the country’s new projects.

AK/