Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug 2
By Emil Ilgar – Trend:
Top officials of Germany’s Linde and British Dutch Royal Shell plc met with their Iranian counterparts on Aug 2, to negotiate possible cooperation in petrochemical projects, as reported by the Iranian National Petrochemical Company’s official website.
According to the report, Deputy Oil Minister Amir-Hosseing Zamaninia, after the meeting with Linde officials, said that the sides have reached the final stage for signing an agreement concerning petrochemical projects.
He added that, the negotiations with European companies on petrochemical projects were fruitful and the grounds for including them into the country’s projects have been laid.
Consequently, Iran’s Oil Ministry reported that, the top officials of Shell met with other Deputy Oil Minister Gholamreza Manouchehri to discuss their involvement in Yadavaran and Azadegan oil fields.
The sides haven’t announced the results of negotiations yet; however, Shell and Iran already have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on petrochemical projects worth several billions.
Shell signed a MoU with National Iranian Oil Company to explore areas of potential cooperation in 2016, but neither side has elaborated on the deal yet.
The Head of Media Relations at MENA Shell Nureddin Wefati told Trend on July 25 that, the company, aligned with its long-term strategy, is exploring potential business opportunities in Iran.
He refused to confirm the mentioned negotiations, stating "no comment on any specific deal."
Negotiations between Iran and European giants came a week after US Congress passed a bill on new sanctions against Iran, expected to be signed in by President Donald Trump this week.