National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) – Iran’s largest oil firm – will develop four oil fields, including nine reserves, under its own contract model.

Four fields in Iran’s southwest Khuzestan province – Parsi, Karanj, Rag Sefid and Shadegan – will be developed under the oil firm’s contract model, according to NISOC managing director Bijan Alipour.

The nine reserves include Asmari, Pabdeh and Khami in the Karanj field; Asmari, Bangestan and Khami in the Rag Sefid field; Asmari in the Parsi field; as well as Bangestan in the Shadegan field.

Development of the fields will take five years, as per the NISOC contract.

The new deal had taken 100 hours to be drawn up, said Alipour.

A total of 22 European and Asian companies are in talks with NISOC to develop fields entrusted to the company within the framework of this contract.

“Talks are going on with Poland’s PGNiG, the UK’s BP and Russia’s DeNico Consortium,” Alipour said. Discussions with certain foreign firms had progressed as far as signing a memorandum of understanding, he added.

“The contract framework is similar to the new model of oil contracts in the repayment section, and capital and wage payment will be possible out of half the production surplus to the baseline target,” Alipour said.

The Islamic Republic’s cabinet approved the Iran Petroleum Contract in August, with Tehran hoping to invite foreign companies to develop its under-capitalised energy sector.