Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

Energy-rich Iran, which is now free of international sanctions, desires to see oil purchase by the state-run Japanese companies at the pre-sanctions level.

“Tehran and Tokyo can continue their cooperation in the oil sector,” Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said, adding that the two countries can enjoy strategic relations in various areas, including in the energy sector.

Addressing a meeting with Katsuyuki Kawai, a special advisor to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in Tehran on February 15, Zanganeh also noted that Iran and Japan can cooperate in different energy sectors, including refining, LNG and petrochemical industry, as well as investment and financing of projects.

Mohsen Ghamsari, executive director for international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company, earlier said that Iran, the fourth country in the world for its proven oil reserves of 158 billion barrels, plans to triple its crude oil export to Japan once the sanctions are lifted.

Currently, Tehran exports 110,000 barrels of crude oil per day to Japan, which is planned to reach 350,000 barrels per day.

Japan is showing a serious will to strengthen economic ties with Tehran, in particular in the energy sector.

Currently, Iran supplies only 3 percent of Japan’s 3.5-million barrels per day of crude demand, after the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Kuwait.

Meanwhile, Iranian media reported that Japan plans to extend a contract to purchase crude oil from Iran.

Shana news agency – affiliated to Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum – has reported that Japan’s contract will be extended until April 2017.

Japan was one of the key clients of Iran’s oil before the U.S.-led sanctions were imposed on the Islamic Republic in 2012. Iran also hosted several leading Japanese companies in its oil and gas projects before the sanctions were put into place to encourage purchases of oil from Iran not only by Japan but also by many other international clients.

The prospects for the removal of the sanctions against Iran encouraged the Japanese officials to look for the avenues to return to the previous status of oil relations with Iran.

Accordingly, Shana says Tehran hosted several major oil delegations from Japan over the past months during which the Japanese officials emphasized that the country is ready to return to pre-sanctions status of oil imports from Iran as soon as the bans against sales of Iranian oil are lifted.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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