The company will soon open an office in Tehran, an official with Zarubezhneftegaz has said, adding that it is ready to participate in the exploration, drilling, extraction and refining sectors of Iran`s oil and gas industry.
In November 2009, Russian Gazprom and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the development of the Azar and Changuleh oil fields, with estimated reserves of 2 billion barrels.
However, in August 2011, Iran changed its mind and rebuffed Russian participation after deciding to operate the fields using local consortiums. Iran said Russia had failed to meet its obligations and was therefore breaking the agreement.
Another Russian company Lukoil suffered a $63 million loss when it was forced to withdraw from a project in the Aran oilfield. A joint venture between Lukoil and Norway`s Statoil had hoped to develop part of the Anaran block that extends across the Iraqi border. The two companies wrote off the project because of the international sanctions imposed on the Iranian banking system.
Iran sits on the world`s second largest natural gas reserves after Russia ýand is trying to grow its gas production by increasing foreign and domestic investments, especially in its South Pars gas field.
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