A Comparative Evaluation of the NIOC’s Risk Factor in the IPC, Buy-Back and PSC Contract Arrangements

As the first link between the host governments and oil companies, oil contracts arrangements have an important role to risk sharing between contract parties. In this regard, the main objective of this study is to provide a comparative evaluation of the risk factor (Cost Risk, Price Risk, Production Risk) of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) in Buy-Back (BB), Production Sharing Contract (PSC), and Iranian Petroleum Contract (IPC), and choosing the best contract based on the risk factor. Based on the results of the Wilcoxon Ranking Test, the average of the NPV of the NIOC in the IPC is more than the other types of contracts. However, the NPV in the IPC does not significantly differ from BB. Other findings revealed that the most risk of rising costs to the NIOC is related to the BB, IPC, and PSC, respectively. In addition, the most risk associated with a reduction in oil production is related to BB, IPC, and PSC, respectively. the most risk associated with the oil price reduction for the NIOC related to the IPC same as BB contracts that greater than PSC.