“Obtained information from 16 exploration wells drilled in this area, along with other studies, indicate huge potential reserves in this area and the need to change the technical approach to the potential hydrocarbon resources in the South Caspian Basin,” Emad Hosseini said.

The results from the two new wells, namely Hirkan 1 and Ghezeltapeh 3, are also expected to confirm the above-mentioned studies, Hosseini noted.

According to the official, KEPCO has proposed four new projects to the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), two of which have been approved to be implemented in the region.

“Among the four strategic projects proposed to the NIOC board of directors, two projects namely the two-dimensional seismicity of the Caspian Sea shore area and the management and maintenance of Iran-Amirkabir drilling platform and its supporting vessels have been approved,” the official explained.

Referring to Turkmenistan’s plans for exploring gas reserves in the Caspian Sea, he continued: “Khazar Exploration and Production Company has put the two-dimensional seismicity of the Caspian Sea shore area on the agenda in order to determine the best deep drilling location.”

This project will be the first step in creating a seismic database on the challenging shore areas of the Caspian Sea, which is very important considering the existing capacities in these coasts,” the official added.

Back in June 2020, Head of KEPCO’s Department of Geology Farid Taati had said that his company was cooperating with domestic knowledge-based companies for the Caspian Sea oil exploration operations.

KEPCO, which handles exploration operations in the Caspian Sea region in northern Iran, had signed research-based deals with domestic companies in the Iranian calendar year of 1398 (ended in March 2019) to carry out exploration operations in the area.

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Speaking to ILNA, Emadi talked about the current talks between Iran and Western countries and its effects on the economy, and said the current talks in Vienna are progressing well as the negotiators have reached an agreement on four out of the six items.

He noted the main difference between Iran and the U.S. is that Iran wants all sanctions are removed but the U.S. President is not allowed to do so because some of them have been approved by the Congress.

He continued that the U.S. Treasury is preparing the ground to put an end to the sanctions on Iran’s banking sector but it does not mean Iran’s return to the international system because both the SWIFT and E3 emphasize that as long as Iran does not join the FATF it cannot enjoy unlimited banking services.

Emadi said that Iranian team should work on removal of sanctions on energy, banking and transportation and of course Iran has added some more priorities like removal of sanctions on the military and intelligence individuals and this has made the talks more complicated and it may be a brake.

He said he believes Iran should focus on removal of sanctions on major three sectors then during the next talks, they can expand it to the individuals and other issues because removal of sanctions on these sectors can have positive effects on the people’s lives.

Emadi noted that the impacts of removing sanctions on the public and control of the inflation may be seen in the next 15 years and on the unemployment in the next two years.

On the possibility of unblocking Iran’s frozen assets, he said that he does not know the exact amount of Iran’s blocked money but according to some records in 2019, Iran in 21 countries each has deposits more than half a billion dollars.

He claimed that Iran has transferred major part of its dollars to Russia and has received roubles in return which has been a strange move as it has reduced the value of the deposit.

He claimed Iran has over $30b in different accounts in China and it can only use its money through buying Chinese goods which is not a good option for Iran.

Emadi noted that Iran has also blocked money in the UAE, Turkey, South Korea, Cyprus, Greece, India, Malta, Malaysia and Singapore, adding that Iran has started opening accounts in Macao and Hong Kong in the past five years.

He went on to say that according to the available information, Iran has over $88b frozen money and if the money is released and used in transfer of technology, it will boost economic security and sustainable growth.

He noted that retaking money from Russia and China is not easy but it is not impossible and Iran needs an expert legal team dominant on the economic issues for retaking its money.

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