Petroleum Business Review

Abstract The Islamic Republic of Iran has recently introduced the fourth generation of oil buyback contracts, known as the Iran Petroleum Contracts (IPC). The main objective of these new contracts is to attract foreign investment in the Iranian oil and gas sector. While the IPCs address certain risks associated with the Iranian Petroleum Buyback Contracts from the contractor's perspective, there are still additional concerns for contractors. To gain a comprehensive understanding of the risks associated with these contracts, this study takes a multi-faceted approach. Firstly, it provides an overview of upstream contracts in the oil industry. It then to identify and monitor all contractual and non-contractual risks linked to IPC contracts conducts a combination of qualitative methods (library and documentary research and Delphi method) and quantitative methods (interviews and questionnaires with 50 industry experts and companies involved in buyback, using techniques Fuzzy AHP, and Fuzzy TOPSIS). Through the use of these methods, the study aims to provide investors with valuable insights into the potential risks of the IPCs and assist NIOC in effectively responding to and monitoring these risks, thereby encouraging investment in the development of Iran's oil and gas projects.

Abstract This article examines how capital market instruments, particularly Islamic bonds (sukuk), can finance Iran’s petrochemical value chain through a hybrid Rial–foreign-currency model. The study is motivated by post-sanctions capital-market constraints in Iran, notably currency volatility and limited access to foreign funding, and by a gap in research on multi-currency Islamic financing solutions. It proposes a multi-layer financing structure combining Rial and foreign-currency Ijārah sukuk tranches and applies doctrinal legal analysis to the relevant Sharīʿah contracts and Iranian regulatory framework. To make the quantitative claims transparent, a stylised five-year quarterly model of an export-oriented methanol project is used. Under the illustrative assumptions, the annual weighted average cost of sukuk debt falls from 30.24% in an all-Rial structure to 20.07% in a 50/50 hybrid structure, while mean DSCR increases from 1.28x to 1.45x and the share of periods below 1.0x falls from 37.5% to 25.2%. The hybrid structure may broaden the addressable investor base, but actual implementation remains conditional on sanctions compliance, foreign-exchange approvals, transferability of export proceeds, and settlement arrangements.