Iran Ready to Increase Oil Exports to India, Minister Says
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Iranian oil minister said on Saturday that the Islamic Republic is prepared to raise its crude exports to India.
Iran is exporting around 350,000 barrels of crude oil a day to India and hopes to increase this number, said Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, Shana news agency reported.
He made the remarks after a meeting with his visiting Indian counterpart Dharmendra Pradhan in Tehran.
For his part, Pradhan said India was eager to invest $20 billion in Chabahar port in southeastern Iran, adding that "Iran and India's energy ties are no longer limited to crude oil imports".
During the meeting, the two ministers signed an agreement in a bid to expand their cooperation in oil exports, the petrochemical sector and the development of the Farzad-B gas field.
Indian companies have been in talks with Tehran since 2009 for developing the Farzad-B gas field, estimated to hold over 13 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas.
Pradhan arrived in Tehran on April 9. His two-day visit is aimed at boosting energy ties between the two nations following the removal of anti-Tehran sanctions.
All nuclear-related sanctions imposed on Iran were lifted after Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) reached the deal on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16.
