A high-ranking delegation from Malaysia's Petronas met the head of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) in Tehran on Saturday to discuss future energy ties with Iran.
The meeting was held on the sidelines of a conference to introduce Iran's new oil contract model as well as dozens of energy projects up for grabs, Shana reported.
"Petronas executives indicated the company's interest in expanding ties with NIOC," said NIOC Managing Director Roknoddin Javadi after the meeting.
Representatives of 335 oil companies came from 45 countries are participating in the two-day event to learn about the contract terms. A follow-up conference will be held in London on February 22-24, 2016.
The contract, known as Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC), took two years to be devised by the Oil Ministry and endorsed by the Rouhani administration. Projects introduced under IPC can hopefully meet a part of Iran's need for developing its oil and gas industry, said Mehdi Hosseini, head of the conference and the official in charge of devising the new contract terms at Iran's Oil Ministry.
IPC is replacing buyback deals. Under a buyback deal, the host government agrees to pay the contractor an agreed price for all volumes of hydrocarbons the contractor produces.
However, under the IPC, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) will set up joint ventures for crude oil and gas production with international companies which will be paid with a share of the output.
Petronas announced last quarter that its cash from operations wasn't able to cover its capital expenses nor committed dividends for 2015, forcing it to draw on reserves and accelerate cost savings, said Reuters.