Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum has replaced the head of state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) as the oil producer looks for international investment in its assets.

The ministry’s news agency Shana said Ali Kardor had been appointed head of NIOC, replacing Roknoddin Javadi as the managing director of the company. Kardor had previously served as NIOC’s director of investment and financing.

Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh appointed Javadi as managing director of NIOC in September 2013, as part of a reshuffle of energy officials appointed under the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad government.

Iran is currently working on the new Iranian Petroleum Contract (IPC) to attract overseas investment to develop its oil fields and refineries.

The new IPC structure is set to replace the unpopular ‘buy-back’ contracts that the Petroleum Ministry introduced in the 1990s to allow international oil companies (IOCs) to develop oil fields.

IPCs will allow IOCs to participate in the oil-production phase of a project rather than hand over the asset to NIOC for execution.