LUKoil expresses interest in cooperation with Iran

Vahid Ali Akbarov, head of Russia's largest oil company LUKoil expressed interest in cooperation with Iran in the oil and gas areas. In a meeting with the visiting Iranian oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, Akbarov welcomed a proposal set forth by the Iranian minister to invest in the new phases of the South Pars oil and gas fields.

Zangeneh said Iran and Russia would have to cooperate on exploitation of the oil and gas fields on the Caspian Sea too due to the huge energy resources of the landlocked sea. He noted that the Russian companies could work independently or get involved in the oil and gas projects in Iran.
Akbarov touched on the political will of both Iran and Russia expand mutual relations and said the bilateral ties would benefit both sides. Special attention should be paid to the preparation of a program on oil cooperation between the two countries for the years to come, he noted.

The Russian official voiced his country's interest in boosting gas cooperation with Iran and hoped that the Russian companies would get involved in the South Pars gas development projects. Iran and Russia discussed how to draft a long-term bilateral economic agreement as Russian Deputy Prime Minister Victor Khristenko stressed the two countries' potentials for further cooperation in the energy sector.
The 10-year agreement will pave the way for a wide-ranging economic cooperation between the two countries, including in the fuel and energy sector, he told after talks with Zangeneh. The two sides also discussed possible ways for expanding non-OPEC Russia's contacts with OPEC in order to establish a steady oil market.

The other important issue raised up in Zangeneh's talks with Russian officials was the Caspian Sea which is a bone of contention among its littoral states over the sea's legal status. Zangeneh said Tehran and Moscow had done no work yet for cooperation on the landlocked sea and the two sides had to strengthen their coordination in that effect. Yusufov hoped that the two countries would have "Constructive cooperation" over the Caspian Sea.
Littoral states of the Caspian Sea -- Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan -- are at odds over the division of the landlocked sea which yet lacks a new legal regime to exploit its resources. Iran and Russia technically used to share the sea but since former Soviet Union's collapse and the birth of the three other republics, they have had to redraw the Caspian Sea's marine borders.

Zangeneh arrived in Moscow for a two-day visit to discuss bilateral and international issues as well as energy cooperation with Russia in the oil and gas sector.