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With regard to the contract
for phase 11 of the South Pars project, the Oil Minister noted that
negotiations on the contract are underway and near completion. |
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During a meeting between oil ministers
of Iran and India, bilateral ties and expansion of cooperation in the field of
oil and gas were discussed. Indian Minister of Oil, Ram Naik, who visited Iran
at the head of an economic delegation comprising heads of oil companies,
reviewed mutual cooperation in the fields of oil and gas with his Iranian
counterpart Bijan Namdar Zangeneh.
The two ministers discussed India’s
purchase of LNG (liquefied natural gas) from Iran, petrochemical cooperation
and development of Iranian oil fields. They also talked about ways of using
LNG and India’s valuable experiences in this field for reducing air pollution
in Iran. Indian oil minister also toured installations pertaining to the
various phases of the South Pars development plan at Assaluyeh.
Iranian first vice-president,
Mohammadreza Aref, described technical and investment cooperation between Iran
and India as a necessity and emphasized that the implementation of the
Memoranda of Understanding and contracts signed between the two countries will
help in achieving a strategic plan for expansion of relations. Naik stressed
on the need for the strengthening of mutual ties and declared his country’s
interest in cooperating with Iran in various fields including oil, gas and
petrochemicals.
Zangeneh says energy is the axis for
development of political and economic relations. Speaking during the signing
ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation between Iran
and India, he said: "India is the most important market for export of Iran’s
gas either through a pipeline or in the form of LNG." He noted that the MoU
binds India to purchase 5 million tons of LNG from Iran annually in return for
developing an Iranian oil field under competitive conditions according to a
buyback contract. "Based on the memorandum of understanding, we will take
advantage of India’s technical know-how for using CNG and optimization of
refineries".
Zangeneh said that oil prices must be
kept at the level of $22-$25 per barrel. "A $25 price per barrel for oil is
reasonable and OPEC is determined to stabilize the market and keep oil prices
at the current level." With regard to the contract for phase 11 of the South
Pars project, the Oil Minister noted that negotiations on the contract are
underway and near completion. He concluded by saying that development plan for
Bangestan oil field is near finalization and its contract will be signed in
the near future.
