Baku, Azerbaijan, May 29
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
An association of Japanese oil companies has resumed technical cooperation with Iran's oil refining industry, Mehr news agency reported May 29.
The Japan Cooperation Center, Petroleum (JCCP), made the decision following the recent lifting of economic sanctions on Tehran and extending Iran's oil export agreements to Japan for 2016.
The JCCP CEO Tsuyoshi Nakai said that the center will cooperate with Iran's oil industry in implementation of training programs.
Last week, Nakai in a meeting with Amir Hossein Zamaninia, Iran's Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs discussed mutual cooperation in the fields of training, human resources management, marketing, finance and distributing oil and oil products.
The JCCP has trained 1400 Iranian oil industry experts so far.
The center began sending engineers to the Middle East in 1981 after Japan was hit by an oil crisis. They provided technical cooperation in oil refining and distribution.
But the JCCP stopped dispatching personnel to Iran in 2010 after the West stepped up economic sanctions on the country over its disputed nuclear program.
The center says the Japanese engineers will provide assistance with environmental measures and improving safety.
The JCCP hopes that closer relations with Iran will help Japan to develop resources and improve its energy security.