Ali Kardor made the announcement on Saturday on the sidelines of the 2nd International Congress and Exhibition on Exploration and Production, and the 5th Iran International Congress on Drilling Industry currently underway at IRIB International Conference Center in Tehran.
He added that 10 technical groups are assessing and negotiating over the new oil contracts, expressing hope that several more contracts would be signed in the next Iranian fiscal year starting on March 21.
According to him, the companies securing the tender bids will take over the North Azadegan oil field for 20 years.
The field was discovered in 1999, and is located 80 kilometers (50 mi) west of Ahvaz, near the Iraqi border.
He noted that the current contracts have been drawn up for short-term exploitation, but their long-term implementations are also on the NOIC agenda.
He further added that the process for issuing permits for the new oil contracts are “time-consuming”, and went on to voice his dissatisfaction with the less-than-expected number of contracts signed so far.
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