TEHRAN (Tasnim) Indonesias highest-ranking energy official unveiled plans for crude imports from Iran as part of the Southeast Asian countrys efforts to diversify its oil suppliers.Indonesias Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said noted that Jakarta has been exploring the possibility of crude supplies from Iran.
"Iran has sent its delegation to me. They want to renew the contract we signed before," Antara News quoted him as saying.
Sudirman also expressed optimism that Iran and Indonesia would sign the oil contract soon.
Recent reports suggest that Tehran and Jakarta are about to forge closer ties in the energy field.
Earlier this week, Naryanto Wagimin, acting director general for oil and gas at Indonesias ministry of energy, said Iran plans to build oil refineries and supply crude oil to Indonesia.
The Iranian government is looking for opportunities to develop refineries in Indonesia, where demand for oil is growing faster than the ability to secure hydrocarbons, Wagimin was cited as saying by the Jakarta Post newspaper.
In April, Hassan Khosrojerdi, head of Irans Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters Union said the Islamic Republic plans to construct six oil refineries in Indonesia.
He said that Iran would build a heavy oil refinery there with the daily production capacity of 150,000 barrels of crude in addition to five smaller refineries with daily production capacities of 30,000 to 50,000 barrels of gas condensates.
By Tasnim News Agency
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