TEHRAN Oct. 4 (Shana) � Vice president for legal affairs said Iran�s new oil contracts which were verified by the cabinet last week will be attractive to investors while securing the country�s interests and maintaining its sovereignty over the oil reservoirs.
�Since it is due that Iranian and foreign firms will have further partnership in the oil industry, it is essential that legal ambiguities in this respect will be clarified,� Elham Aminzadeh said regarding Iran Petroleum Contracts (IPC) to be introduced in near future.
Saying that the existing Tender Code has numerous bureaucracies, she added that it has entangled the private sector and created problems for the public sector.

Aminzadeh made the remarks in a press briefing on the Second National Convention of Energy Law slated for October 12-13 in Tehran.

According to the presidential aide who is also the chairwoman of the conference, Iran is going to sort out legal barriers on the way of development of the oil industry, urging the private sector to help the government in identification of the loopholes.
�If we prove successful in securing oil industry�s rights at international forums and in attracting of foreign investments, it will naturally strengthen the private sector,� she told the event�s policy-making council last week.

Identification and screening out of the problematic rules will be discussed in one of the panels, Aminzadeh added.
�Laws which support financial sponsors must provide a secure atmosphere for domestic and foreign investors, while some of these laws have added to the bureaucracy and created more obstacles,� deputy Petroleum Minister Rokneddin Javadi told the council members, adding that legal and contract departments have not kept in pace with achievements in the technical units.

Javadi welcomed passing of laws which permit foreign investment but added that certain rules and monitoring agencies have acted as a hurdle on the development of projects.

Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh has said the main conference on introducing Iran�s new oil contracts will convene in the near future in Tehran.
�The new oil contracts and the projects to be developed within their scope will be introduced to foreign investors in a conference in Tehran in month of Aban (Oct 23 � Nov 21),� he told Shana.

Saying that venue of the main event which was due to be held in London has been shifted to Tehran, the minister added, �The companies that cannot make it in Tehran, can participate in the subsequent London conference.�
The Tehran event is expected to be embraced by foreign firms longing for participation in Iran�s oil industry in the post-sanction era.

In September, he welcomed foreign investment in Iran�s energy industry, but said the Islamic Republic is interested in technology transfer by foreign partners.
�More than cash or using the technology, we would like to have their advanced technology to be transferred to domestic companies,� he stressed.

In the wake of nuclear deal in July, Iran has hosted high-ranking officials and corporate executives of major companies from Germany, Spain, Austria, Italy, and France to discuss new cooperation ventures.

By SHANA