Tehran, Baku plan extended energy cooperation: Deputy oil min.

Iran's deputy oil minister for international affairs and trade says the Islamic Republic and the Republic of Azerbaijan plan to expand their cooperation in oil and gas sectors under new international conditions.

Amir Hossein Zamaninia made the remarks following a meeting between Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh and Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economic Development Shahin Mustafayev in Tehran on Tuesday.

Zamaninia noted that under new international conditions, expanded cooperation in various sectors related to oil and gas industry is possible for the two countries.

He added that during Mustafayev’s meeting with his Iranian counterpart, the two sides discussed development of energy cooperation between Tehran and Baku, especially in the field of oil swap.

Zamaninia emphasized that necessary political will exists in both countries for further development of energy cooperation.

According to Azerbaijan's Trend news agency, Zanganeh told Mustafayev that Iran is ready to carry out swap deliveries of Azerbaijan’s oil to the Persian Gulf region.

Zanganeh stated that the oil can be transported from Neka port on the Caspian Sea in north Iran to the Tehran Oil Refinery via pipeline, adding, “Instead, Azerbaijan will get oil on the southern borders of Iran.”

He added that Iran could also cooperate with Azerbaijan in the oil and gas sector in the Caspian Sea.

Azeri minister, for his part, said Iran can use Azerbaijan's infrastructure to export oil and gas to world markets.

“Iran can use Azerbaijan’s infrastructure, especially the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline to export its oil,” Mustafayev noted, adding that Iran can also join the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project in the future.

Before his meeting with Zanganeh, Azeri energy minister met with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani during which Rouhani said the Islamic Republic gives priority to development of relations with all neighboring countries, including the Republic of Azerbaijan.

He added that the recent nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers has increased global demand for investment in the Islamic Republic.

“In the wake of the nuclear agreement, numerous companies from across the world are keen to invest in Iran. It is obvious that [Iran’s] neighboring countries including the Republic of Azerbaijan are prioritized in this regard,” Rouhani said.

On July 14, Iran and the P5+1 countries – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany – finalized the text of an agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in the Austrian capital of Vienna.

Under the JCPOA, Iran has accepted limitations on its nuclear activities in exchange for the removal of all economic and financial sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

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