The Status of Buy-Back Contracts in Iran's Upstream Oil and Gas Projects and Its Comparison with Production Sharing Contracts

For almost twenty years, Buy-Back Contracts have been regarded as one of the most legal and contractual mechanisms in dealing with the upstream oil and gas projects in Iran. These contracts have enabled the country not only to attract foreign investments but to address the legal impediments envisaged in the Constitution of Iran, and to restrict the upstream contracts to only contracts that observe the sovereignty of the government and also to maintain the title of the oil and gas to the nation of Iran. This Article while dealing with the various types of Buy-Back Contracts in Iran’s upstream oil and gas projects, will endeavor to compare those contracts with other types of upstream contracts, namely, Production Sharing Contracts, which are exercised by other nations in oil and gas industry.