HONG KONG (Dow Jones)--Iran is inviting China to get involved in deals in several huge oil projects worth more than US$42.8 billion, as the Islamic nation seeks to boost its crude refining capacity, the South China Morning Post reported Wednesday, citing the Ministry of Petroleum of Iran.
The projects touted by Tehran comprise upgrades and expansions of refineries, construction of seven new ones and the building of a 1,640-kilometer oil pipeline from Neka on the Caspian Sea in the north to Jask on the Gulf of Oman in the south, the report said.
The bulk of the investment - US$30 billion - being sought by the National Iranian Oil Refining & Distribution is for the seven new refineries in the west of the country, the report said.