Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 15
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Tehran expects that the Japanese state-run companies will increase their oil purchase from Iran at least to the pre-sanctions levels, said Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iranian oil minister.
He made the remarks during a meeting with Katsuyuki Kawai, a special advisor to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in Tehran Feb. 15, the oil ministry's official SHANA news agency reported.
"Tehran and Tokyo can continue their cooperation in the oil sector," Zanganeh said, adding the two parties can enjoy strategic relations in various areas, including energy sector.
He further said that Iran and Japan can cooperate in different energy sectors, including refining, LNG and petrochemical industry, as well as investment and financing of projects.
Zanganeh also announced that Japanese prime minister is expected to visit Iran this year.
Mohsen Ghamsari, executive director for international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company, earlier said that Iran plans to triple its crude oil export to Japan once the sanctions are lifted.
Tehran's current crude oil exports to Japan stand at 110,000 barrels per day, which is planed to reach 350,000 barrels per day, Ghamsari said last October.
He also said that Tehran currently supplies only 3 percent of Japan's 3.5 million barrels per day of crude demand, after the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Kuwait.