Iran’s position towards the concept of attracting foreign capital into the natural resources sector , has historically been rather sensitive . The bad memories of foreign companies exploiting and weakening national interests is of course , based on factual reasons , and therefore pervades the Iranian social psyche . This however , has been relaxing ever since the first spate of buy-back tenders were ushered in some 7 years ago , gradually preparing the mood for absorbing the much needed foreign financings . That is to say , the re-introduction of foreign participation into the country’s oil and gas operations had to transpire in a controlled and staged development process , without it giving off any serious threats to the country’s national interests . A trend that has had its very own supporters and detractors .
At any rate ,whether the investment requirement is USD 20-bil or USD 40-bil over the next five to 10 years . in other words ,whether the country needs to raise as much as USD 8-bil or as little as USD 2-bil a year to ensure a robust future for its oil sector ( and to develop its massive gas resources as well ) , the bottom line would be : it cannot suffice hoping to raise the cash internally ; while the prospect of borrowing such funds for disbursement by Iranian companies is problematic in both a financial and technical sense. As such , it appears that the much required financial boost must therefore , come from foreign capital and companies . In short , the process of incorporating Int’l oil firms in Iran’s oil and gas ventures , has been quite challenging , which given the multitude of considerations and debates as to its justification , Iran will have to continue dealing with it , over the next few years.