TEHRAN, May 28 (Shana) -- Foreign companies who want to work in Iran, have the right to choose their Iranian partners, senior Ministry of Petroleum official said.

Amir Faraji an official affiliated to the Ministry of Petroleum made the remarks in a meeting with representatives of exploration & production (E&P) companies on Saturday.

According to the new Iran Petroleum Contracts (IPC), foreign companies which are interested to participate in Iran Exploration and Production projects, have the right to choose their Iranian partners, he added.

The official said that Iranian Ministry of Petroleum will provide the foreign companies a list of qualified Iranian E&P Companies but the foreign companies can choose their partner out of the list.

If the foreign company is interested to choose an Iranian company as its partner which is not in the list provided by the Ministry of Petroleum, the Iranian company should be evaluated by the Ministry, he noted.

Faraji said that any Iranian company which aims to work with foreign companies should be confirmed by the Ministry of Petroleum officially before start of cooperation.

Iran's new oil and gas contracts are a cornerstone of its plans to raise crude production to pre-sanctions levels of four million barrels per day (bpd).

The sanctions imposed in 2012 over Iran's nuclear program have lost it billions. Tehran now wants foreign firms to revive its giant but ageing oilfields and develop new oil and gas projects through joint ventures with Iranian partners.

By SHANA