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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran Intends to Start Pumping Oil Fields It Shares With Iraq |
| 2004-06-03 |
| From IranMania Iran intends to go it alone in developing oilfields it shares with neighbouring Iraq, one of the Islamic republic’s deputy oil ministers was quoted as saying Tuesday. "Iran and Iraq share a few joint oilfields. We cannot wait and see what government takes power in Iraq, and if it is about to cooperate with us or not," Hadi Nejad Hosseinian told the Sobh Eqtesad newspaper. "We are ready to cooperate with the Iraqis through mutual coordination or even joint exploitation once they are prepared," the deputy oil minister said. His comments come despite the recent formation of a joint committee to examine the joint development of oilfields -- Kushk-Hosseinieh, Azadegan, Dehloran, NaftShahr and West Paydar. Quoted earlier by the oil ministry’s news agency Shana, the deputy head of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) asserted Iran was still keen on joint projects with Iraq. The official, Mehdi Hosseini, said Iraq’s awarding of contracts to US firms would also not pose a problem. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime, Iran and Iraq have stepped up energy cooperation, including an agreement for Iran to export 300,000 barrels a day from its southern ports on Iraq’s behalf in exchange for oil piped to a refinery in Abadan just inside southwestern Iran. |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |