Baku, Azerbaijan, July 19
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran and Germany will expand oil, gas, and petrochemical ties in a wide range of areas, said Ali Majedi, the Iranian ambassador to Germany.
Referring to the visit of a high-ranking German delegation to Tehran, Majedi said that the Iranian side will discuss the method of importing technology from German companies, while exporting petrochemical products to Germany, Iran's Shana news agency reported on July 19.
Iran and Germany are ready to cooperate on all sectors of the oil industry, including the upstream and the downstream sectors, he noted.
German industrial giants along with tens of smaller companies, headed by Germany's Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel, to visit Tehran on July 19 to discuss economic cooperation following conclusion of Iran's nuclear talks with the P5+1 group.
Linde, Siemens, Mercedes, BASF, Volkswagen Group, and GIZ are among the big German companies whose representatives accompany the delegation.
Although Germany companies are not so capable to participate in large projects, such as the Azadegan oilfield, but they can participate in medium projects of the upstream oil sector, Majedi said.
Before the imposition of sanctions on Iran, Germany was the second trading partner of Iran, he said, adding that exporting Iranian gas to Germany in the form of LNG or via pipeline may be discussed by the two sides.
On July 14, Iran and the P5+1 group of countries - the US, the UK, Germany, France, China, and Russia - reached the conclusion of negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program.
Based on the agreement, Iran and the six powers agreed that all economic and financial sanctions against Iran will be removed through a Security Council resolution. In addition, all bans on Iran's Central Bank, shipping, oil industry, and many other companies will be lifted.
Currently, German exports to Iran amount to about 2.4 billion euros ($2.6 billion) - less than half what they were ten years ago, when sanctions were imposed. According to the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), that figure could easily multiply to a sum in the double-digit billions once sanctions will be lifted.