Iran’s new oil industry investment contract for international oil firms will be ready by July, a senior Oil Ministry official was quoted as saying by Iranian state TV.

"The new contracts will be ready in June, July ... We welcome investors from all countries," Deputy Oil Minister Rokneddin Javadi said.

Some 135 companies including BP, Total, Italy’s Eni and Spain’s Repsol attended a conference in Tehran in November to hear about the new Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) but its launch has been postponed several times.

Hardline rivals of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani have criticised the IPC, which would end a buy-back system dating back more than 20 years under which foreign firms have been banned from booking reserves or taking equity stakes in Iranian companies.

"Hopefully we will have oil tenders with new oil contracts in July," Javadi said. "Iran’s doors are open to all investors," the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Javadi as saying. Javadi said Iran had no plans to hold any conference abroad to introduce the new oil and gas contracts to foreign investors. Iran cancelled a London conference set for February 22-24.

"The introduction of the contract to investors can be done in Iran," Javadi said. Foreign companies will be invited in July to bid for the new IPCs, the managing director of NIOC said.