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Iran's oil minister to meet Western oil companies' managers in Switzerland

Iran Materials 22 January 2014 16:36 (UTC +04:00)
Iranian oil minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh will meet with managers of Western oil companies on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos.
Iran's oil minister to meet Western oil companies' managers in Switzerland

Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 22

By Umid Niayesh, Saeed Isayev - Trend:

Iranian oil minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh will meet with managers of Western oil companies on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Iran's IRIB news agency reported on Jan. 22.

Zanganeh said he will be discussing possibilities of investments into Iran's oil and gas sectors with representatives of oil companies.

"Major international oil companies can participate in Iran's plans for increasing its oil and gas production, and reviving oil fields," Zanganeh said.

The oil minister accompanies Iran's president Hassan Rouhani in a visit to Switzerland, for participation in the World Economic Forum's annual meeting.

Given Iran's rich reserves, international companies have expressed interest in doing business with the country, as soon as the sanctions on it are lifted. According to BP statistics, Iran holds world's largest gas reserves, while being 4th in terms of proven oil reserves.

On Jan. 17, Zanganeh has formally invited giant British oil companies, Royal Dutch Shell and British Petroleum, to take part in the country's oil and gas projects.

On Dec. 4, 2013 Iran named seven Western oil companies (Total of France, Royal Dutch Shell, Italy's ENI, Norway's Statoil, Britain's BP and U.S. companies Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips) it wants back in its vast oil and gas fields if international sanctions are lifted and said it would outline investment terms in April of 2014.

On Jan. 20, the EU has agreed to suspend some economic sanctions against Iran as part of a ground-breaking nuclear deal under which Tehran has scaled back its nuclear work. The decision included softening restrictions on trade in petrochemicals and precious metals and on the provision of insurance for oil shipments, among other measures.

The same day, Reuters reported citing the U.S. Treasury Department that the country eased some sanctions on Iran, pausing efforts to reduce Iranian crude oil exports, as part of a nuclear deal.

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