Iranian MP: Oil Minister to Be Impeached Unless New Contracts Model Amended
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Iranian lawmaker warned that the parliament will impeach Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh if a new model of oil contracts with foreign customers, which has recently been approved by President Hassan Rouhani’s administration, is not modified.
Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Seyed Nasser Mousavi Largani, who is a member of the parliament’s Economy Commission, pointed to concerns over the new model of oil contracts, saying that in this regard, a letter signed by a large number of MPs has been submitted to the presiding board of the parliament.
The new oil contracts will damage the image of Iran’s Establishment and undermine the country’s independence, he said.
Earlier this week, Javad Hosseinkia, a member of the parliament’s Industries and Mines Commission, told Tasnim that the oil minister had attended a Tuesday session of the commission to assure the MPs that the country has not signed any deal with foreign customers using the new model of oil contracts.
Zanganeh also had emphasized that any draft contracts challenged by critics will be modified in order to address the concerns of the lawmakers and experts.
The new oil and investment contract for international firms, known as the Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC), will replace Iran’s buyback oil deals. Under a buyback deal, the host government agrees to pay the contractor an agreed price for all volumes of hydrocarbons the contractor produces.
Iran worked on the oil contract model for two years. The country hopes to draw as much as $50 billion a year from major oil companies such as Italy’s Eni SpA and France’s Total to develop its oil and gas fields.
