Iran Said to Plan Better Terms to Lure Foreign Oil Groups Back

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In private, the message from other companies is similar, with executives saying they are interested in playing a role in developing Iran’s energy potential. The message is far less guarded than in the past, when oil majors largely said they were going to stay away from Iran.

The interest is understandable: Iran is home to the world’s fourth-largest oil reserves, only behind Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Canada, and the second-biggest cache of natural gas.

The potential return of international oil companies to Iran if the nuclear sanctions are lifted would be the second time the country’s hydrocarbon sector opened in 20 years.

Islamic Revolution

After an almost two-decade hiatus following the Islamic revolution, Tehran tried to lure back foreign oil companies in the early 1990s. It first turned to the U.S., reaching a $1 billion deal with Conoco in 1995 that was almost immediately scrapped under pressure from the White House. After a false start with the American group, Tehran signed several deals with European majors including Total and Shell. The European companies withdrew later due to the nuclear sanctions.

Today, Iran’s need for foreign capital and technology is more urgent. The country pumps 2.8 million barrels a day, down from more than 4 million a decade ago and a peak of 6 million in 1974.

The International Energy Agency has said Iran’s largest fields, including Gachsaran and Marun, which have been in production for more than 50 years, are in “sore need” of rehabilitation.

--With assistance from Golnar Motevalli and Hashem Kalantari in Tehran.

To contact the reporters on this story: Javier Blas in London at jblas3@bloomberg.net; Anthony DiPaola in Dubai at adipaola@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net Randall Hackley


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