Iran and Azerbaijan have started talks over cooperation in exploring and developing new oil and gas fields in the Caspian Sea.

The issue was discussed in a rare meeting between a delegation from Khazar Exploration and Production Company (KEPCO) and Azerbaijan�s state oil and gas company SOCAR.

KEPCO is a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) that oversees the development of reserves located in Iran�s share of the Caspian Sea.

�There is currently a great potential for the expansion of cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan over energy issues � what can eventually help the development of economic ties between the two countries,� Khoshbakht Yusifzadeh, a top SOCAR official, told reporters after meeting the Iranian delegation.

Yusifzadeh added that there is a good opportunity for Iran and Azerbaijan to expand their cooperation over the exploration and development of oil and gas fields.

�This opportunity needs to be exploited to the fullest,� he said, emphasizing that Tehran and Baku need to continue further discussions over this.

Yousef Etemadi, KEPCO director for exploration affairs, told reporters that his team had discussed the prospects for cooperation with SOCAR over oil sector projects. Etemadi said both sides had also exchanged views about the technicalities involved in the exploration and the development of the offshore and onshore oil and gas fields in the Caspian region, Iran�s Mehr news agency reported.

The Caspian Sea is rich in hydrocarbon resources and the littoral states of the sea have made major investment in developing oil fields in the region over the past years.

Iran�s Ministry of Petroleum has in recent years attached special significance to the development of oil fields in the Caspian Sea.

Back in 2012, Iran discovered a new oil layer with in-place reserves of two billion barrels in Sardar-e Jangal oil and gas field off the shore of the northern Iranian province of Gilan in the Caspian Sea which contains quality crude.

The preliminary evaluations showed that Sardar-e Jangal field would produce some 8,000 barrels of oil per day and its gas reserves were estimated at 50 billion cubic feet - a quantity equivalent to Iran's total gas consumption over a 10-year period.

By Press TV