Russia to invest in Iran once sanctions lifted

Moscow's Ambassador to Tehran Leon Jagarian said Russian oil companies will be willing to invest in Iran’s energy sector once the sanctions targeting Iran are lifted. “In case of reversal of sanctions, Russia’s oil companies will be eager to invest in Iran’s oil and gas sectors,” the ambassador told Shana in an interview. He gave an upbeat assessment of the current level of relations between Iran and Russia, saying Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Russian President Vladimir Putin held important talks in Kazakhstan’s capital Bishkek on the sidelines of the September summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). He said Rouhani-Putin meeting opened a new chapter in ties between the two countries. “Within the framework of this meeting and agreements, Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh recently travelled to Russia and reached good agreements with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak. We hope that we will soon see serious development of energy cooperation between the two countries,” said the Russian diplomat. Zanganeh travelled to Moscow October 29 at the invitation of Novak. During a meeting in Moscow, the two ministers underlined the need for further cooperation. During the two-day trip, Iran and Russia also discussed purchase of commodities and equipment required by Iranian companies and the participation of Russian companies in Iran’s petroleum industry. Zanganeh’s visit came on the heels of the ministerial meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) which was held in Tehran on November 3. Jagarian said: “We hold a positive view of the presence of Russian oil companies sin Iran’s energy sector.” “Moscow is opposed to unilateral sanctions [imposed] against Iran because we are suffering from these sanctions,” he added. Jagarian said Russia is making efforts for effective oil and gas cooperation with Iran. Las month, Russia's second largest oil company, Lukoil, is considering participation in oil and gas projects in Iran in case the US-engineered sanctions against the Islamic Republic’s oil sector are lifted. "If there are changes, if restrictions and sanctions are lifted, then, of course, we will very cautiously return to the project [in Iran]," Itar-Tass news agency quoted Senior Vice President of Lukoil Overseas Gati Saadi al-Jebouri as saying. Earlier, another Russian company Zarubezhneftegaz announced its readiness to participate in the development of a newly discovered gas field in Iran. The Russian company signed an MOU with Iran in 2010. The company will soon open an office in Tehran, an official with Zarubezhneftegaz said, adding that it is ready to participate in the exploration, drilling, extraction, and refining sectors of Iran's oil and gas industry.