Comparative comparison of mutual sale contracts and new oil contracts from a financial perspective in Iran

Providing a very high amount of investment in the upstream sectors of the oil industry, especially the exploration and development of the fields, makes it difficult for developing countries, including Iran, to implement oil projects. One of the ways to compensate for the lack of capital and required financial resources is to conclude a contract with reputable international companies, and since the activity in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry is very profitable, these companies have a high incentive to invest. Oil industry projects are always high-risk projects and the financial characteristics of oil contracts play an important role in the success of their implementation, so the structure of the financial system in oil contracts should be carefully considered. In this article, while stating the framework of the financial system of mutual sale contract and Iran's oil contracts and introducing the studies related to this research, different aspects of the two contracts have been compared in terms of different characteristics using the TOPSIS method and this issue has been analyzed. According to the results of the TOPSIS decision-making method, the components of the contractor's assigned costs, reasonable flexibility in the contractor's work description, maintenance withdrawal from the reservoir, and securing and attracting foreign investment were of high priority. Based on the introduced criteria, the IPC contract was identified as a suitable contract for Iran's oil industry.