Iran seeks to form joint oil firm with Azerbaijan

By Trend

Iran seeks to form a joint oil company with Azerbaijan, Amir Hossein Zamaninia, the Islamic Republic’s Deputy Oil Minister for International and Commercial Affairs, told Trend.

Zamaninia said that the company will be formed within the framework of a deal recently signed between the two parties.

Last month during a visit of Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani to Azerbaijan, the two countries signed "The Memorandum of Understanding on "Joint Development of Relevant Blocks in the Caspian Sea."

"According to the signed document, a joint oil company should be established between the two countries, and we are now seeking to establish it," Zamaninia said, adding that the deal will come into force in coming days.

While responding to a question about possible impact of US withdrawal form the nuclear deal on Baku-Tehran oil cooperation, the official said "I think that withdrawal or not withdrawal of Washington form the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA or Nuclear Deal) will not affect the Iranian cooperation with Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR."

Zamaninia further said that the JCPOA implementation is acceptable for Iran’s oil sector until the Islamic Republic is able to sell its oil, receive the oil money and finance for oil and gas projects.

The top official put the country’s oil export level at 2.6 million per day, saying Iran’s oil export has witnessed significant increase in current month compared to the preceding months.