Iran aims to sign contracts worth around $15bn with IOCs during the current Iranian year (ending March 2018) according to NIOC managing director Ali Kardor. The Phase 11 heads of agreement (HoA) signed in November was provisionally worth $4.8bn, implying that $15bn would require around 3-4 deals.

The process has undergone frequent delays. In August 2016 NIOC hoped that two or three contracts would have been signed by the end of the last Iranian year, which ended in March (MEES, 2 September 2016). (CONTINUED - 1536 WORDS)