伊朗內閣批準新修訂的伊朗原油協議起草案

Iran’s cabinet approved on Wednesday an amended draft for the country’s new oil and gas contracts, Iranian official media reported. The launch of the Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) has been postponed several times as hardline rivals of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani resisted any deal that could end the buy-back system, under which foreign firms were banned from owning stakes in Iranian companies. Iran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said last month that no new oil and gas contracts for international companies would be awarded without necessary reforms. The Islamic Republic is ramping up oil production and reclaiming market share after the lifting of Western sanctions in January.However, oil majors have said they would go back to Iran only if it made major changes to the buy-back contracts of the 1990s, which companies such as France’s Total said made them no money or even incurred losses.