Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.13
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Chinese companies will remain in Iran's oil market even after the international sanctions are lifted from Iran's oil industry, ILNA quoted Iranian MP Ali Marvi as saying on Jan. 13.
China did not leave us alone during sanctions, although they sold their products at higher rates to us. So, they will keep their presence in Iran's oil market, he said.
It is true that we had to buy oil equipment from China at higher prices, but it is not true that Chinese products were non-standard or low-quality, he explained.
In June 2013, former Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi warned all the contractors to avoid importing equipment that is not currently being produced domestically.
All the contractors who ignore the warning will be omitted from the list of oil ministry's contractors, the Mehr News Agency quoted Qasemi as saying.
Even if the price of Iranian-made equipment is slightly higher, the contractors should purchase the Iranian goods, he underscored.
This comes as Chinese equipment has been largely imported for carrying out different oil and gas projects.
Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - Russia, China, France, Britain, and the US - plus Germany reached a breakthrough interim deal on November 24, 2013, in Geneva to set the stage for the settlement of the dispute over the Islamic Republic's nuclear energy program.
Under the Geneva deal, the six countries undertook to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities during a six-month period. It was also agreed that no nuclear-related sanctions would be imposed on Iran within the same timeframe.