Representatives from Russia's energy giant Gazprom are set to discuss the company's participation in the development of Iran's South Pars natural gas field, the company said Wednesday.
In an emailed statement, Gazprom said the discussion will take place during tripartite gas cooperation talks being held Wednesday in Doha between representatives from Iran, Qatar and Russia.
"As part of the ongoing discussions between Russia, Qatar and Iran on expanding cooperation, Gazprom representatives will on Wednesday, 12 November 2008, participate in a meeting of a technical committee that will discuss details of the implementation of the joint South Pars project," the statement said.
"At the meeting in Doha, Qatar, the participants will focus on exploration, production, processing and deliveries of natural gas, including LNG," the statement added.
Iran, Qatar and Russia agreed in late October after a trilateral meeting in Tehran to form an OPEC-style organization for gas exporting countries.
The meeting between Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari, Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, and the head of Gazprom Alexei Miller, took place in Tehran on the same day OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El Badri arrived in Moscow to meet with Russian government officials.
The National Iranian Oil Co., or NIOC, and Gazprom recently signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on the development of Iran's oil and natural gas fields in July.
The terms of the MoU included the establishment of a joint Russian-Iranian company and collaboration on the development of South Pars phases, according to Iranian media reports.
National Iranian Gas Exporting Co. chief Seyyed Reza Kasaeizadeh said Sunday that Iran, Qatar and Russia were primarily meeting to discuss the formation of a technical committee and discuss ways to expand trilateral cooperation, according to local press reports.