Iran is preparing by the end of March to start soliciting bids from international companies for rights to develop oil fields as the country anticipates the removal of economic sanctions that have hobbled its crude production and exports. The Persian Gulf nation, once OPEC’s second-largest producer, wants to begin organizing bids by the next Iranian calendar year starting March 21, Seyed Mehdi Hosseini, chairman of the Oil Ministry’s Oil Contract Restructuring Committee, said Wednesday in an interview in Tehran. It’s seeking to sign oilfield-development contracts within two years at the latest, he said. Iran’s new oil contracts will allow international companies to invest for 20 years with the option of extending for an additional five, he said. Companies will share in the benefit of an increase in oil prices but must also help bear the risk of a decrease, Hosseini said. Iran, with the world’s fourth-largest reserves of oil, […]