Speaking at a press conference after the 17th meeting of Iran-Russia Joint Economic Commission, held in Tehran on Wednesday, Owji said the contract with the Russian companies on the development of Iranian oil fields has helped the country increase its daily crude production by 200,000 barrels.
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has been holding expert-level talks with the Russian companies for months to forge cooperation in the oil sector, he said.
The minister noted that negotiations with the Russian companies on contracts to develop more oil and gas fields in Iran have reached the final stage over the past days.
Exporting the technical and engineering services, increasing the oil and gas extraction capacity, and swapping oil and gas were the main topics discussed by Iran and Russia, Owji added, Mehr News Agency reported.
Of 15 memoranda of understanding between Iran and Russia, four are related to the energy sector, the oil minister stated, noting that the Russian firms are interested in being involved in the Iranian oil industry.
He then pointed to the negotiations held with Russia, Qatar and Turkmenistan to set up a gas hub in Iran’s Assaluyeh region and explained, “Iran has held serious talks with the major gas producing and exporting countries in the field of establishing a gas hub in the region which has been highly welcomed by the Russian side.”
The 17th meeting of the Iran-Russia Joint Economic Cooperation Commission in Tehran was participated by Owji and Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak to review cooperation in various economic fields.
