Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh has denied news reports that Iran has granted special concessions to the Japanese in new oil contracts.
Talking to reporters following opening of the Second National Convention on Energy Law in Tehran on Monday, the minister said, “No project has been granted to any foreign company or country.'
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Tehran Monday at the head of a 23-member delegation to hold talks with the Iranian officials on the future of Tehran-Tokyo relations.
Zangeneh said the new oil contracts to be unveiled in the upcoming conferences in Tehran and London will focus on the development of joint fields with neighboring countries as well as enhancing recovery from the wells.
The two-day conference aims at facilitating domestic and international operation of the country’s oil and gas industry and also contributing to the performance of the public and private sectors. It is being held prior to the convention of twin conferences to introduce Iran’s new oil contracts to be held in Tehran and London on November 21-22 and February 22-24 respectively.
The London conference was postponed from December 2015 to February 2016 so that it will be held after removal of sanctions.
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, Japan, and France to discuss new cooperation ventures.
Zangeneh also called for launching reputable legal firms in Iran in the wake of the removal of sanctions saying commercial law in Iran needs to be vitalized.
“Iran has had significant progress in the knowledge of law but not an eye-catching success in the business law,” he told participants of the conference.
Referring to the importance of bringing law and oil contracts closer together, Zangeneh said there are three challenges in the field of law and energy.
In the first place, he added, there is no impartial, competent body in the contracts and government still is the final arbiter.
The minister said lack of a proper definition of regulation system and determining the source of investment capital are additional problems faced by the industry.
The conference aims at facilitating domestic and international operation of the country’s oil and gas industry and also contribute to the performance of the public and private sectors, organizers told Shana.