The types and forms of oil and gas contracts play an important role in the negotiation of financing, operations, and risk and profit sharing in the development of the upstream oil and gas industry in Iran. Different forms of contracts co-exist in this globalised industry dominated by multinational oil and gas corporations. Increasingly, developed and developing countries have found it necessary to reconsider the forms of contract they enter into in consideration of whether they have served the nation’s interests in oil and gas development in the past, or are likely to in the future. Iran has a unique historical context and legal system in relation to oil and gas exploration and exploitation. This thesis focuses on the legal and contractual framework of the Iranian oil and gas industry from discovery to present day. This has been classified into three periods: from exploration of oil in Iran to nationalisation (1901-1951), from nationalisation to the Islamic revolution (1951-1979), and from revolution to the present day (1979-2017). It considers the strengths and weaknesses of past and present contractual forms having regard to the national interests of the Iranian government. Exerting State control over all oil production stages, especially upstream stages, has been popular from a historical perspective. However, regard should be given to the high costs of investment in oil projects and the risks where profitability and return of the capital is doubtful. In addition, oil-rich countries like Iran generally lack the required technology to efficiently exploit its resource fields as well as the financial resources for infrastructure development. The result has been a distortion of negotiations, particularly over all aspects of financing, infrastructure, and the allocation of project risks. The central theme of this thesis is the analysis of the concept of concession in oil and gas development. This is discussed through the main forms of concession contract; namely, the Classic Concession Contract (hereafter referred to as CCC) and the New Concession Contract (hereafter referred to as NCC). The present study examines the nature and features of the NCC as both a unique type of oil and gas contract and as a modified version of a concession contract. The research reviews other forms of contracts to have been adopted in Iran, and compares them with other arrangement such as joint venture contracts, production sharing agreements, service contracts, and buy-backs used internationally by sectors of the oil and gas industry. To consider the role of the NCC in developing national upstream oil and gas industry, comparative examples are drawn from countries currently using, or having previously used, NCC oil and gas contracts. The selected developed and developing countries are Brazil, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Australia and Norway. The analysis considers the extent to which the NCC has served to advance the objectives and national interests of the national governments in this industry. The implications for future contractual arrangements for this sector in Iran are considered, having regard to the experiences of the NCC discussed. The final chapters of the thesis focus on the relevant aspects of Iran’s Constitution and natural resource laws, and makes recommendations for law reform to Iran’s legal frameworks. It argues such reforms are required to implement the NCC as a contractual form for future upstream oil and gas development in Iran
