Iran Plans To Issue Bonds To Fund Oil Projects

Iran plans to issue bonds in the next few months to help fund oil projects in the country, according to the head of the local Securities and Exchange Organization.

“The Securities and Exchange Organization (SEO) and the oil ministry have been negotiating for one and a half years over the issuing bonds for oil projects ... We are hopeful that this would be implemented in a few months,” the head of the organization, Shapour Mohammadi said on Tuesday, as quoted by the official news agency IRNA.

“This will help all Iranians to participate in investment in oil projects,” Mohammadi added.

The plan to issue bonds resurfaces a month after the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and announced the return of the sanctions on Tehran later this year. Foreign companies, including France’s Total, have already said that they would pull out of Iran if they can’t obtain U.S. waivers.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Iran’s planned bonds for funding the oil sector would be offered to foreign buyers, too. If Iran is seeking foreign buyers, it could have difficulties attracting investors to buy its debt, considering that foreign companies are carefully examining their potential risk, and many opt not to risk being slapped with some kind of secondary U.S. sanctions if they continue to do business with Iran.

As regards U.S. sanctions, Iran has sought support from fellow OPEC members against the returning sanctions and wants the issue on the agenda at the Vienna meeting next week. In a letter to the OPEC presidency, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh also suggested that his country does not agree with “recent remarks by certain OPEC members, noting that the Organization adopted decisions by consensus and no single member spoke for the body.”

OPEC is said to probably reject Iran’s request to put the U.S. sanctions against Tehran up for discussion at the cartel’s official meeting.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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