TEHRAN — International oil companies are buying the tender documents of Iran’s 17 oil blocks amid new sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic over its nuclear program, an Iranian oil official said here on Friday.

On March 24, the UN Security Council voted to impose new sanctions on Iran for its refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment. The sanctions target freezing assets of Iranian state-owned Bank Sepah and the restriction of international movements of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards elites.

“Oil companies are still keen on purchasing the tender documents of Iran’s oil blocks and investing in the country’s energy development projects, regardless of sanctions imposed on Iran,” Hossein Roshandel, deputy director at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for exploration told the Mehr News Agency.

He added that eleven companies, including Shell, Total, Repsol, OMV, Brazil’s Petrobras and Malaysia's Petronas, have thus far bought the documents.

Roshandel declined to name which of these companies have used the data on blocks or purchased the documents.

Iran introduced 17 oil blocks for exploration and development during a February meeting in Vienna. These include five offshore and 12 onshore blocks and are located in nine provinces.

The Islamic Republic expects to attract €46 million of investment for the blocks.