Zanganeh: Foreign, oil ministries must cooperate for oil exports

Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh underscored the necessity of cooperation between the oil and foreign ministries for crude oil exports. “Ministry of Foreign Affairs by developing marketing for oil sales and Ministry of Petroleum by enhancing production can play an effective role in oil exports,” Zanganeh said on state television. “Iranians inside and outside the country can help us in oil sale and marketing and gain profits from this market,” the minister said. Zanganeh also said that Iran is ready to negotiate with Qatar for gas recovery from the gigantic South Pars gas field the two countries share in the Persian Gulf. “We are ready to negotiate with this country... but the point is that Qatar shows willingness for talks anytime our conditions are conducive to recovery from this joint field. When our recovery is low they are reluctant to talk,” the minister stated. “By enhancing production from South Pars field, we can strengthen ourselves. Under the present circumstances, we will definitely negotiate with the Qatari side and naturally they will pursue their own interests in recovery from this joint field,” he said. Zanganeh promised a major change in gas extraction from South Pars in the coming months. “The problem we are facing now in the petroleum industry is not finance, but management problems. One of my objectives in the petroleum industry will be to bolster management,” he said. Zanganeh added that he is not satisfied with the current trend of recovery from the joint hydrocarbon fields.