Iran is considering new ways to make its oil and gas contracts more attractive to the large number of foreign investors lining up to do business with the Islamic republic, an Iranian oil official said on Sunday.

The new contracts are flexible and have been developed in accordance with the new international regulations, the Oil Ministry affiliated SHANA news agency quoted Mehdi Hosseini, the head of Oil Contracts Revision Committee in the ministry, as saying.

Iran needs 150 billion US dollars worth of investments in its upstream oil industry in the next five years, Hosseini said, adding that the share of foreign investors should increase in the contracts.

Iran is revisiting its previous contracts with the hope of benefiting both sides in the development of the country's oil and gas fields, exploration operations, and technology, he said.

As international sanctions against Iran are easing, the country 's oil industry is preparing a framework on how to interact with the world, the oil official said, adding that Iran will unveil its oil contract models in May.

International companies withdrew from Iran as the United States and European Union imposed sanctions on Iran's oil and gas industries during the past few years, which caused a significant decrease in Iran's oil and gas exports and production.

Last November, Iran and the P5+1 group signed a nuclear agreement which encouraged hopes for an investment comeback.

Since the new government took office, Iran's Oil Ministry has focused efforts on regaining Iran's status in the international markets. During the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Iran urged oil giants to invest in its oil and gas industries.

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said last December that the ministry had prepared a roadmap for investment in oil and gas industries for the next eight years.