Oil Price - Iran expects around US$50 billion worth of oil contracts to launch their operational phases next year, according to Fardad Daliri, director of investment at the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization (IDRO) of Iran.

The Islamic Republic is inviting local and foreign companies to take part in oilfield development projects that Iran wants to launch soon, Daliri said at an international exhibition in Tehran, as reported by Trend news agency.

�We are hopeful to be able to sign huge oil deals on the development of shared oil fields both on and offshore,� Trend quoted Daliri as saying.

Iran is finalizing talks and expects to soon sign deals with major international companies, including France�s Total, Denmark�s Maersk, Malaysia�s Petronas, Indonesia�s Pertamina, and Russia�s Lukoil, the official said.

Total�the first oil major to return to looking at investing in Iran�is waiting for an extension of the waiver on U.S. sanctions against Iran before it makes the final decision on a US$2.2-billion�investment in a gas project in the country, according to Total�s chief executive Patrick Pouyanne.

OPEC�s no.3 producer, Iran, which is currently pumping just below 3.8 million bpd of crude oil, wants to increase its production to 5 million bpd by 2021.

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Iran�s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said that the re-election of reformist President Hassan Rouhani last week was an important step toward signing big deals with big international companies.

�One important step was the election, because in this election Iranian people said 'yes' to positive interaction with the world,� the minister noted.

Zanganeh reiterated Iran�s long-term plan to lift the country�s production capacity to 5 million bpd in the next five years, thanks to new projects developed together with international companies.

Iran hopes to sign this year oil development contracts with Total, Lukoil, and Maersk, and possibly Pertamina, Zanganeh told Reuters.