U.S. delegation reported to pay working visit to Iran
By Sara Rajabova
A U.S. delegation is reported to visit Tehran this week to explore investment opportunities in the country's oil industry.
The U.S. delegation will hold meetings with Iranian officials, representatives of oil companies and their contractors. In addition to studying investment opportunities the U.S. delegation will explore cooperation opportunities with Iranian companies working in the oil industry, Mehr News Agency reported.
“It is predicted that following the visit by the American delegation to Tehran and possible removal of sanctions against the oil industry, we will witness the presence of major international U.S. oil and gas companies in Iran in future,” said Abbas Sheri-Moqadam, Iran’s deputy petroleum minister.
Meanwhile, the Iranian official said European and American companies have already voiced their preparedness to invest in several new petrochemical projects in Iran.
Sheri-Moqaddam said negotiations have already started with companies from Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy.
He also reiterated that there is no limitation for American companies' investment in the Iranian petrochemical industry.
“There is no limitation for foreign investment in the country, because when these companies want to invest in Iran, they should first register an Iranian company which can operate in Iran without facing any limitation,” Sheri-Moqaddam noted.
The Iranian Association of Petrochemical Industry Corporations said in April that the country’s petrochemical sector was capable of attracting $70 billion in domestic and foreign investment.
Iran holds the world's fourth-largest proven crude oil reserves and the second-largest natural gas reserves.
Iran’s total in-place oil reserves have been estimated at more than 560 billion barrels, with about 140 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Heavy and extra-heavy varieties of crude oil account for roughly 70-100 billion barrels of the total reserves.
The foreign companies had to quit the Iranian market after the country was hit by international sanctions imposed on its over nuclear energy program.
The U.S. and EU imposed sanctions on Iran's oil and financial sectors at the beginning of 2012 due to claims of potential deviations toward non-civilian purposes in Iran's nuclear energy program. Iran has repeatedly denied Western allegations against its nuclear energy program.
Sanctions are aimed to prevent other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran. At the end of 2012, EU foreign ministers reached an agreement on another round of sanctions against Iran.
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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
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