The New York Times: “Iran sweetens oil contracts”

By Vestnik Kavkaza

The Egyptian information portal Aswat Masriya reports that Gazprom will export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Egypt, as the country seeks new sources of oil and gas in the face of persistent energy shortages. Egypt's oil minister Sharif Ismail told the local bourse last month that the country had agreed in principle with Gazprom to import 35 LNG shipments between 2015 and 2020. The country relies heavily on gas to generate power for households and industry, but has had difficulty securing imports because it lacks a terminal to process LNG, which is natural gas chilled into a liquid state.

The Pakistani newspaper Business Recorder reports that Pakistan has offered the transit trade agreement Turkmenistan. The Ministry of Commerce will forward the draft of the proposed transit trade agreement to Turkmen officials within the next few days for further deliberations. Transit trade agreement with Turkmenistan will establish another trade corridor into the Central Asian Republics, where goods will be traded with greater ease and in larger quantities. The Commerce Minister also proposed establishing a joint business forum with Turkmenistan on the same pattern as that of Afghanistan and Tajikistan, which will include businessmen of the two countries, with the objective of strengthening co-ordination between the private sectors. This will also provide an assistive platform to the governments of the two countries to communicate on a single forum for feedback and facilitation.

The New York Times published an article headlined “Iran sweetens oil contracts to counter sanctions and price plunge.” Iran is sweetening the terms it offers on oil development contracts to draw the interest of foreign investors deterred by sanctions and low crude prices, as its pragmatic president seeks to deliver on his promise of economic recovery. "The new contract is more competitive than other oil producers. It provides higher potential profits and lower investment risks," said a senior Iranian oil ministry official. The contract offered a favorable rate of return and joint venture options with local Iranian firms. The new contracts will offer long-term durations of up to 25 years. The new oil contracts will allow investors to be involved in production, giving them far greater control and certainty over long-term revenue in a country where foreign ownership of oil resources is banned. The new contracts, which include those in the upstream - the exploration and development - sectors are expected to attract more than $40 billion in foreign investment.

The Afghan Business Portal reports about a new stage in cooperation between Iran and Afghanistan, in an article titled “Iran constructs pipeline for gas export to Afghanistan.” Iran is ready to export its natural gas through a pipeline in Heart, according to an agreement which was signed by the two countries. Tehran is ready to work with Kabul in various economic spheres. The agreement on electricity power export to Afghanistan has already been signed.