Exporting technical-engineering services, following up on the construction of extraterritorial refineries, overhauling Venezuela’s refineries, and marketing for Iranian private companies active in the oil industry, especially in the field of petrochemicals have been the main topics discussed during the visits with Pedro Tellechea, Venezuela’s Oil Minister, and Yvan Gil Pinto, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and other officials of this country.

In these meetings, the two sides discussed issues related to the development of oil and gas relations and followed-up on the progress of ongoing refining, petrochemical, infrastructure, and gas transmission projects.

Venezuela, as Iran’s top oil partner in Latin America, has a very good capacity in the oil industry. This country has the largest oil reserves in the world and has many refining, petrochemical, and gas transmission facilities. Apart from Venezuela, the Latin American market is also a very large and favorable market for the export of technical-engineering services, equipment, oil products, and petrochemical products.

Iran’s oil industry, on the other hand, has high capacities for presence in the lucrative Latin American market, and contractors, manufacturers, and knowledge-based companies are required to pay due attention to them and seize the opportunities provided by the government.

The Oil Ministry has promoted energy diplomacy, developing its relations with Latin American states.

Taking office in August 2021, Iran’s incumbent administration has paved the way for private and semi-governmental companies’ presence in the lucrative market. Given the administration’s efforts, the Iran-Venezuela oil trade volume has reached around $4.0 billion – a great breakthrough after a long hiatus.

Oji left Tehran for Caracas on Wednesday, January 31.

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Oji who arrived in Turkmenistan on Wednesday for a two-day visit, met with top Turkmen officials and exchanged views on various issues including gas trade, exports of oil products and technical-engineering services, and equipment, Shana reported.

The Head of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Majid Chegeni, Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs and Trade Ahmad Asadzadeh, the Adviser to the Minister and the Head of the Ministerial Office Payam Kehtari also accompanied Oji during his visit.

Carrying a message from Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi to his Turkmen counterpart Berdimuhamedov, Oji also talked to Turkmenistan’s Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov and Deputy Prime Minister for Oil and Gas Batyr Amanov.

On December 19, 2023, Raisi, in his phone talks with Berdimuhamedov, expressed his satisfaction with the considerable growth of bilateral relations, particularly the increase in the two nations’ trade volume, in recent years.

The Iranian president also stressed the need to speed up the implementation of the energy, transport, and transit agreements reached between the two countries during the Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Cooperation Commission meeting.

Berdimuhamedov, for his part, expressed his gratitude to Iran for its active participation in the joint commission and side exhibitions, saying Turkmenistan is ready to broaden cooperation with Iran and put bilateral energy, transport, transit, and cultural agreements into action.

Iran and Turkmenistan have called for developing mutual customs ties during a meeting between the customs officials of the two countries in last March.

During the meeting, Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Mohammad Rezvani-Far, and the head of the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan Maksat Hudaykulyev stressed the need for launching a joint custom gate.

The officials discussed major issues in two rounds of meetings. The first round was held at Khorasan Razavi Customs, and the second round was held at Hudan Customs of Turkmenistan.

Boosting cooperation and trade in four customs borders, establishing joint border customs, signing a memorandum on training, holding regular joint meetings between the two sides, enhancing border markets, and removal of restrictions were among the topics discussed during these meetings.

Pointing out that the 13th government pays special attention to the development of economic and border interactions with neighboring countries, Rezvani-Far said that the development of economic interactions, especially with neighboring countries, is a top priority for the incumbent government in Iran.

Calling for strengthening economic ties with Turkmenistan, he highlighted that the two states’ economic cooperation would multiply the volume of trade between the two countries.

Also in last February, senior officials from Iran and Turkmenistan’s oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors have held talks on the sidelines of the Islamic Republic’s 14th special exhibition in Ashgabat, to explore avenues of mutual cooperation.

Headed by Deputy Oil Minister for Engineering, Research, and Technology Vahid-Reza Zeidifard, the Iranian delegation met and discussed cooperation in various areas with the representatives of Turkmenistan’s national oil, gas and petrochemical companies in separate meetings.

Speaking in the meeting with the deputy head of Turkmenistan’s national gas company Türkmengaz, Zeidifard introduced the capabilities of Iranian companies active in the oil industry and emphasized the development and cooperation between the two countries.

Pointing to the fact that over 70 percent of the equipment and items used in the Iranian oil industry are manufactured by domestic producers, the official proposed to help Turkmenistan by supplying the country with such equipment.

Expressing the Islamic Republic’s readiness for building refineries, developing oil and gas fields, and supplying high-quality parts and equipment at a competitive price to the Turkmen parties, he invited the oil and gas officials of Turkmenistan to visit Iran to get familiar with the capabilities of the country’s oil industry.

The Turkmen side for his part welcomed the presence of Iranian companies, especially from the Oil Ministry, in that exhibition, expressing hope that the cooperation between the two friendly and brotherly countries would develop.

In another meeting, the vice president of the country’s national oil company Türkmennebit underlined the Iranian oil industry’s ability and capacity, saying: “We will be happy to see the names of more Iranian companies in Turkmenistan in the near future.”

The representative of Turkmenistan’s state chemical company Turkmenhimiya also said in his meeting with the Iranian delegation that very good suggestions have been made for cooperation between the two sides and the company is eager to cooperate with Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) for the benefit of both countries.

At the end of the meetings, it was decided that the Turkmen parties should provide Iran with a list of the equipment and parts needed by their oil industry through diplomatic authorities so that the Iranian side can take action to supply them.

In last February, also Iranian Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare Solat Mortazavi said Tehran and Ashgabat have set it on the agenda to expand cooperation for the development of transportation infrastructure in order to increase trade exchanges.

Mortazavi made the remarks following a meeting with Turkmenistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashit Owezgeldiyewich Meredow.

Speaking in that meeting, Mortazavi said the two countries have historical, cultural, and religious roots and commonalities that can facilitate economic cooperation.

The 13th government and President Ebrahim Raisi’s special foreign policy approach is paying special attention to the neighbors, the official said.

“We follow developing relations with Turkmenistan more sensitively”, he stated, adding that cooperation between the two countries should be developed in all fields, especially in the economic and infrastructure areas.

Meanwhile, Meredow referred to the good relations between the two countries and existing cultural commonalities, saying that the Iran-Turkmenistan Joint Economic Committee is a suitable platform for finding solutions for developing economic relations and removing obstacles to cooperation.

He added that the public and private sectors of Turkmenistan are also fully prepared to hold an exclusive exhibition in Tehran.

Emphasizing the need to develop the road and rail transport infrastructure, the Turkmen Minister said the Islamic Republic of Iran can be a gateway for Central Asia’s access to the Persian Gulf states.

The 15th exclusive exhibition of Iranian products kicked off in Turkmenistan’s capital city Ashgabat in mid-February, 2023.

The inaugural ceremony of the exhibit was attended by Mortazavi as well as some Turkmen officials.

The exhibition was participated by more than 90 Iranian companies active in the fields of agriculture and food industry, construction industry, cement, oil and energy, petrochemical products, auto parts, technical and engineering services, medicine, and medical equipment.

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Production and exports of oil products and gas condensates are on the rise thanks to the unflinching efforts of the Oil Ministry’s staff, Shana quoted the minister as saying.

The Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) and the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) registered 19.8 percent and 16.4 percent economic growth for the domestic oil and gas industry in spring 2023, respectively, revealing the great efforts made in upstream and downstream sectors, the minister noted.

Back in September, Bloomberg had reported that Iran’s oil exports continued their upward trend in August to reach 1.85 million barrels per day (bpd).

Citing TankerTrackers.com which provides data on oil cargoes to governments, insurers and other institutions, the report noted that the increase in Iranian shipments comes in the same month that key OPEC+ producers Saudi Arabia and Russia kept a lid on their own oil exports in a bid to tighten the market, the report said.

According to the TankerTrackers data, Iranian crude exports topped two million barrels a day in the first 20 days of August, the highest this year.

Iran has been steadily ramping up its oil production and exports this year, finding buyers for its supplies in Asia. The country’s production is now at the highest level since a ban on its exports kicked in five years ago, with U.S. officials privately acknowledging they’ve gradually relaxed enforcement on some of the measures.

Earlier that month, SVB International, an energy consultant, estimated Iran’s oil production in August to be 3.15 million bpd, the highest since 2018.

“Iran is on the path to recover its pre-sanctions oil production,” said SVB’s Sara Vakhshouri, Business Recorder reported.

Analysts believe the higher exports of Iranian crude oil appear to be the result of the Islamic Republic’s success in evading U.S. sanctions.

Also in August, Bloomberg reported that China’s oil imports from Iran were soaring in August so that the shipments were expected to reach 1.5 million bpd, the highest since 2013.

Citing estimates from data intelligence firm Kpler, Blomberg put China’s imports of Iranian oil during the January-July 2023 period at 917,000 bpd on average.

In late July, Kpler said that Iran’s oil shipments to China have more than tripled over the past three years despite the U.S. sanctions on the country and the increase in Russia’s shipments to the Asian country.

According to the data analyzing firm, Iranian crude exports to its major trade partner have been hovering around one million bpd in 2023, while the figure was roughly 325,000 bpd in 2020.

Also, the International Energy Agency (IEA) in a recent report titled “Oil 2023” confirmed Iran’s daily export of one million barrels of oil to China, saying: “Despite severe financial restrictions, Iran managed to increase its crude oil production by about 140,000 barrels per day in 2022 to an average of 2.5 million barrels per day. It seems that Tehran has maintained its crude sales to China, which has been around one million barrels per day since the third quarter of last year.”

Earlier in April, Bloomberg reported that “Chinese private refineries are buying more Iranian oil despite the rising competition for supplies from Russia.”

“So-called teapots are prioritizing the flows, with Russian supplies getting pricier as mainstream buyers such as state-owned Chinese refiners and Indian processors take a greater share,” the report read.

In March, China’s imports of Iranian crude and condensate jumped 20 percent month-on-month to 800,000 barrels a day, and are on track to extend gains in coming months, Emma Li, an analyst with data intelligence firm Vortexa Ltd told Bloomberg that month.

While Iranian oil has long been sanctioned by the U.S., refiners in China have proved to be a consistent outlet.

Most Iranian oil used to go to state-owned refineries but “the private refiners in Shandong especially are now running the show,” said Homayoun Falakshahi, senior crude oil analyst at Kpler.

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Speaking on national TV on Sunday night, Oji said the mentioned parks are going to be constructed in southern Iran where most of the country’s oil and gas reserves lay.

According to the official, the Oil Ministry first identified 29 areas in four provinces on the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and after assessing the mentioned areas 13 sites have been finally chosen based on studies of land, the possibility of providing feed and the availability of ancillary facilities.

Mentioning a meeting with First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber and some experts and oil industry officials, as well as the representatives of some major petrochemical complexes on Sunday, Oji said that the resources for the implementation of these parks are going to be supplied by the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC), bank facilities, and some private investment.

“These parks will be established in four provinces of Khuzestan, Bushehr, Hormozgan, and Sistan-Baluchestan,” he added.

“One of the main duties of the Oil Ministry is to prevent the sale of raw materials and to complete the oil industry’s value chain, which is emphasized by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution,” Oji said.

Mentioning the country’s petrochemical capacity, the minister said: “Today there are 60 petrochemical complexes in the country whose 70 percent of major products are exported in the form of semi-crude products, and the other 30 percent is consumed inside the country.”

Saying that the completion of the value chain is one of the priorities of the Oil Ministry, Oji added: “In this regard, a plan has been made to complete the value chain for the mentioned 70 percent of products; this can create added value, prevent the outflow of revenues, generate higher income and create jobs.”

Establishing petchem parks to create employment: VP

Mohammad Mokhber who had also attended the meeting with Oji on Sunday to discuss the establishment of the mentioned petrochemical parks emphasized that dynamism in the petrochemical fields is one of the country’s main advantages.

“The marine economy and the oil industry value chain in southern Iran are very important and should be focused on by the 13th government with proper and timed planning for the prosperity of this part of the country’s economy,” Mokhber said.

The first vice president considered the establishment of petrochemical parks and petro-refineries on the shores of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman as a major driving force for the maritime economy and job creation in the region and added: “The implementation of these petrochemical settlements on the seashore is one of the important and priority plans of the government.”

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Addressing the 24th Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in Cairo, Egypt, Oji said: “Using energy as a political tool and sanctioning the most important owners of natural gas reserves will have irreparable consequences on the world’s environment and will make it impossible to achieve the United Nations’ sustainable development goals.”

“I believe that the realization of a global ecosystem with zero carbon emission will remain only a slogan without political will, financial resources, investment in infrastructure, and serious scientific and technological cooperation of all nations,” he said.

Underlining the important role of natural gas in the world’s energy transition, the official stated that the members of the GECF assembly should put new policies on the agenda to promote and facilitate natural gas consumption.

Oji further emphasized the need to pay more attention to environmental issues, saying: “As a person who has worked in engineering and management activities in Iran’s gas sector for many years, I believe this [reducing carbon emissions and protecting the environment] is possible considering the existing technical and engineering capabilities.”

Emphasizing that it is necessary for developing and developed countries to pay serious attention to new technologies in various fields such as carbon absorption, utilization, and storage of natural gas, and reducing the leakage of methane or blue hydrogen, he added: “Fortunately, new technologies for reducing the carbon emission in the natural gas production process are widely available if there is the political will to do so.”

The official finally stressed the need for improving the GECF status in the global gas market for ensuring the world’s energy security, saying: “I suggest that joint thinking and construction cooperation among the members of the assembly should be promoted at strategic, managerial and technical levels.”

“I believe that the exchange of successful experiences among member countries at the mentioned levels is very important,” he added.

The 24th GECF Ministerial Meeting was held on Tuesday, October 25, in Cairo, the capital of Egypt.

The ministerial meeting is the highest governing body of the forum, and according to the GECF statute, it is held once a year.

Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela are 11 main members of GECF, and Malaysia, Norway, Iraq, Peru, Azerbaijan, UAE, and Mozambique are observer members in the forum.

GECF Members account for 43 percent of the world’s gas production and own 72 percent of the world’s gas reserves; 55 percent of the gas transmission by pipeline and 50 percent of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade is also carried out by GECF member states.

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Speaking after an OPEC+ meeting on Monday, Oji noted that the global energy crisis is intensifying, especially in Europe, Shana reported.

“Although the Europeans are trying to compensate for the lack of energy and reduce the severity of the crisis with some changes in their energy policies, the stable and reliable supply of energy sources is a necessity for European consumers as the fall and winter seasons approach,” the minister said.

The official further stated that the role and importance of Iran’s supply of energy resources, including oil, gas, and petroleum products, is of double importance in ensuring the stability and security of the world’s energy.

“It is a fact that the increase in the price of natural gas in the European market leads consumers to consume oil and oil products, and a significant increase in the demand for oil and oil products in the green continent is not far from the mind,” Oji added.

“We have always declared that Iran is ready to contribute to the improvement of the energy security in the world by avoiding the political use of energy. The global energy market needs an increase in the supply of oil and natural gas from Iran,” the minister said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the official mentioned the outcomes of the recent OPEC+ meeting, saying: “From a technical and practical point of view, the joint technical committee (JTC) of OPEC+ in its base scenario has predicted the excess oil supply in 2022 to be 400,000 barrels per day, which is about 600,000 barrels per day less than the previous month’s forecast.”

He stated that according to the studies, OPEC+ decisions have helped to improve the conditions of the oil market in terms of supply and demand balance, adding: “However, in the current situation, as a result of some concerns about the consequences of geopolitical tensions for the world’s economic growth and possible demand destruction, the global oil market is in a fragile state, and the proof of this is the high volatility of crude oil prices in recent months, which should be taken into account.”

Pointing out that some OPEC+ ministers have also underlined the issue in recent weeks, the oil minister emphasized: “The current situation requires a lot of careful consideration.”

“According to the latest published statistics and reports, the compliance of OPEC+ countries with the cuts deal reached 546 percent in July 2022; the main reason for the increase in the compliance level was that some member countries did not produce at the level they were supposed to.”

“OPEC+ is at the highest level of cooperation and I think almost all members of OPEC+ have the same opinion regarding the achievements of this cooperation for market stability. The stability and continuity of OPEC+ cooperation can greatly help the world’s consumers in the current crisis,” he emphasized.

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Speaking during a visit to the western province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad on Friday, Mr. Owji said the province sits atop 13% of the country’s oil and gas reserves, adding, “We will start the development and maintenance plans of Gachsaran 1 and 2 oil fields, Gachsaran 3 and 4 oil fields and Bibi Hakimeh field with an increase in production by 40,000 barrels per day and the investment volume of these three fields is about €260 million Euros.”

Owji announced that the projects will begin in the coming weeks and will be operational in two and a half years.

He also said over 62 corporate social responsibility plans are scheduled to be implemented in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad.

During a visit to the province on Friday, Owji said the province’s oil production capacity stands at 620,000 b/d while it sits atop 13% of the country’s oil reserves.

Emphasizing the need to support the people living in the areas where the oil industry operates, the Minister of Petroleum stated: “More than 62 social responsibility projects are being implemented in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad.”

“I believe that industrial towns have a good capacity, and if the oil industry is to develop, the power of these towns must be used,” Owji said.

He further said, “Given the efforts of the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC) and the allocated credit, I promise you that this project will be operational by September 2022.”

Owji, stating that the operation of this project will create employment and favorable income for the province, also referred to the development of the petrochemical chain, and said: “Part of the ethylene produced by Gachsaran Petrochemical Complex will be used to feed the petrochemical unit located next to this complex.”

He announced the annual production capacity of this petrochemical complex as one million to one million and 200 thousand tons of ethylene, noting: “The proposal to build a petrochemical unit next to this complex has been given to help eliminate poverty in the county.”

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The delegation met with senior Iranian officials including Oil Minister Javad Oji and the Head of the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Majid Chegeni.

During the meeting with Chegeni, the NIGC head expressed Iran’s readiness for extending gas export deals between the two countries.

Chegeni, who is also the Deputy Oil Minister for Gas Affairs, said: “Our relationship with Iraq is strategic and apart from economic relations, we have deep cultural and religious relations that are very important. The more our cooperation, especially in the field of energy, the deeper and more objective these relations will be.”

He underlined strong energy diplomacy as one of the major priorities of Oil Ministry, and added: “As mentioned in the meeting with the oil minister while asking the Iraqi side to adhere to current contracts and previous agreements, we are ready to consider new proposals from the Iraqi Electricity Ministry to extend the gas export contract to that country.”

Iranian Oil Minister Javad Oji, in his meeting with the Iraqi Minister of Electricity, stated that negotiations with various parties to increase gas exports and trade are among the priorities of President Raisi administration.

Iran has inked two separate contracts to export the product to the Iraqi cities of Basra and Baghdad.

Given Iraq’s need for natural gas for consumption in power plants, negotiations on importing Iranian gas were started in late 2010 while a contract for gas sales to Baghdad was sealed in June 2013.

The two countries also inked the agreement for the deployment of natural gas to Basra in October 2015, but the exports were halted due to payment issues.

Later on, the Iraqi government approved a deal in late 2017 to import gas from Iran to the eastern border province of Diyala, increasing purchases of the Iranian fuel, which were resumed in June 2017 after several years of hiatus.

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