TEHRAN Oct. 21 (Shana) � Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh said with the removal of oppressive sanctions, Iran will step into a new stage in the development of its oil and gas industry.

He made the comments in a meeting here on Wednesday with the visiting Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak during which the Iranian side expressed readiness for expansion of ties with its Caspian Sea neighboring country.

�Both Iran and Russia own rich oil and gas reservoirs and export huge bulk of their products to the market,� he added, �Therefore, relations of both countries can expand in the field of energy.�

�Negotiations between our countries have always been helpful and effective. We hope that the talks on oil sector can be useful too,� Zangeneh told the Russian minister.

Novak welcomed expansion of trade ties between Tehran and Moscow and said he is accompanied in his visit to Iran by a large team of representatives from 50 major Russian firms in the fields of oil and gas, power, transportation, railways, and communications.

He said his meeting in the morning with the Iranian minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi focused on the ways of raising the bilateral relations.

�In the joint meeting between Iranian and Russian firms, it was agreed that Russia launch a financial credit line of 5 billion dollars for expansion of the bilateral ties,� Novak was quoted saying in the meeting with Vaezi.

In addition to oil and gas cooperation, it is expected that Zangeneh and Novak will discuss latest developments in the global crude oil markets.

Deputy Petroleum Minister for Commerce and International Affairs Amir-Hossein Zamaninia said that at ministerial meetings, both sides usually negotiate on OPEC and Non-OPEC cooperation as well as the international oil market.

�Russians know how to do business in Iran and we hope the visit will bear positive results,� he told Shana on Tuesday.

Following a call by Venezuela, OPEC technical experts will meet later in the day in Vienna to exchange views on ways of stabilizing and raising the price of oil in global markets.
Saudi Arabia has tied any reduction in its output to a parallel move by Russia. �However, Russia has announced that due to technical issues of its wells in Siberia, it is not ready to lower production because it will lose part of its oil recovery.

Moscow is also uncomfortable over oil deals reached between Persian Gulf Arab producers with east European consumers which traditionally bought Russian crude oil and gas.

Zangeneh has said Tehran supports a decision to restore balance in the global oil markets aiming at 70 to 80 dollars per barrel. �Oil prices at 70 to 80 dollars will be fair, and majority of OPEC members agree with the figure,� he said in a televised program in September.

Attributing low global oil prices to the over-supplied market, Zangeneh said some members of the organization mistakenly thought they could pressure US shale oil with cheap prices or make non-OPEC producers to follow their policies.

In the meantime, Iran�s Ministry of Petroleum is preparing for the post-sanction era and is planning programs for an increase in production and export of crude oil, said the ministry�s deputy for planning and monitoring of hydrocarbon resources.

�An export increase of 500,000 barrels a day after removal of sanctions and a subsequent increase of another 500,000 barrels within six months are on the agenda based on the current capacity of crude production,� Mansour Moazzami said.

Moazami said Iran will win back its quota in the global oil markets by doubling the current output to 2 million barrels per day within six months after sanctions are lifted. �Iran�s crude oil has its buyers. As soon as the sanctions are withdrawn, we will not wait and will do our utmost to boost export.�

Iran was OPEC�s second-biggest producer before US-led sanctions banned its customers from purchasing, transporting, financing and insuring of its crude in mid 2012.
Ministry of Petroleum will organize two conferences to introduce Iran�s new oil contracts in Tehran and London on November 21-22 and February 22-24 respectively.

By SHANA