The National Iranian Oil Co., or NIOC, and Russian energy giant Gazprom signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the development of Iran's oil and natural gas fields, the oil ministry's Shana news agency reported late Sunday.
"The development of South Pars phases, construction of a refinery in the north of the country and the transfer of oil from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Oman, establishment of the Neka-Jask pipeline, (and) development of Iran's North Azadegan oil field, were among the terms of the agreement," Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said at the signing ceremony late Sunday, according to Shana.
Under the MoU, the two sides will also establish a joint Russian-Iranian company to collaborate in oil and gas developments in a third country, possibly in Latin America, Shana reported.
The political will to expand bilateral cooperation between Russia and Iran exists at high levels in both countries, Shana cited Iran's oil minister as saying.
Other issues discussed in the MoU include Iran's participation in a Russian natural gas swap, the exchange of knowledge and technology between the two countries, as well as Gazprom's possible participation in the India-Pakistan-Iran peace pipeline, Shana reported.
Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari, Iran's deputy oil minister for international affairs Hossein Noghrehkar Shirazi and Seifollah Jashnsaz, NIOC's managing director, attended the signing jointly with Gazprom chief executive Alexey Miller, according to Iranian media reports.
Iran is the fourth largest oil producer worldwide and harbors the world's second largest natural gas reserves after Russia.