TEHRAN Nov. 1 (Shana) � British companies are "very much interested" to start operating oil and gas projects in Iran and have called for long-term cooperation with post-sanctions Iran, a deputy petroleum minister said.

Following a meeting with a delegation of British energy executives in Tehran on Sunday, Amir-Hossein Zamani-Nia, Iran's deputy minister for international affairs and trading, elaborated on some of the meeting highlights in an exclusive interview with Shana.
He said transfer of technologies and capital as well as formation of joint ventures with Iranian oil and gas firms were discussed during the meeting.

The British delegation was headed by Francis Maude, the Minister of State for Trade and Investment of the UK.
Zamani-nia also said that another British delegation is scheduled to visit Iran within the next two weeks to discuss partnership matters with Iranian energy firms.

He said the sanctions have been lifted on paper only and will be practically removed during November.
Shell Talks

He also said he talked with Royal Dutch Shell during his last week's visit to Netherlands to attend "Iran Offshore Projects Outlook" seminar.
During the talks, Shell representatives indicated willingness to return to Iran's LNG projects, Zamani-nia said.

Settlement of Shell's debts to Iran was also discussed during the visit, he added.
The two-day seminar kicked off on 27 October in the Netherlands with top Iranian oil decision makers and foreign firms in attendance.

By SHANA