Iran and Ecuador sign letter of understanding on oil cooperation

The Iranian and Ecuadorian officials in Tehran signed a letter of understanding on cooperation in the upstream and downstream oil industry and on training manpower. The letter of understanding was signed by Iran's Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari and Ecuador's Minister of Mines and Petroleum Galo Chiriboga Zambarno.
Delivering a speech during the ceremony in which the accord was signed, the Iranian oil minister said Iran's oil industry enjoys a 100-year period of scientific and experimental activities. The Iranian projects are being carried out by the Iranian experts and specialists, he added.

Despite the sanctions imposed on Iran, the country's crude production is 4.3 mm bpd and its natural gas production stands at over 500 mm cmpd, Nozari said. He voiced Iran's readiness to exchange its valuable oil and gas experiences with Ecuador so that the existing problems facing the Latin American country would be solved soon.
The Iranian minister also announced Tehran's readiness to train the Ecuadorian oil industry staff in the upstream sector in areas such as in oil production and exploitation, and in the downstream sector in areas such as construction and repairing refineries and petrochemical units. He expressed the hope that the signed letter of understanding would open a new chapter in the two countries' cooperation.

Nozari added that the two countries' leaders are determined to further boost all-out ties between the two sides.
The Ecuador minister expressed his satisfaction with his current visit to Tehran and his visit to Tehran refinery. He referred to Tehran refinery as one of the world's largest ones. He underlined the need for taking further strides to boost economic ties between the two friendly countries.

Zambarno stressed that Iran and Ecuador are to further bolster their economic ties through establishment of a joint company. He invited his Iranian counterpart to visit Ecuador in the near future to study the issue.
Praising Iran's valuable experiences in the areas of oil and gas, he called for exchange of such experiences between the two states.