Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh reportedly plans to visit the UK in the near future to hold talks with British and other European oil and gas companies about their future presence in Iran’s energy sector.

Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Lamont announced the news on the sidelines of a visit to Iran earlier this month by a British delegation, headed by Former UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Mehr news agency reported on Friday.

Zangeneh has recently invited energy giants Royal Dutch Shell and British Petroleum to resume their activities in Iran, Lamont also noted.

Iranian officials have not confirmed the news yet.

On the sidelines of OPEC’s ministerial meeting in Vienna in early December 2013, Zanganeh said Tehran would like to see seven oil giants, including France’s Total, Royal Dutch Shell, Norway’s Statoil, Italy’s Eni and British Petroleum as well as US Exxon and Conoco make investment in the Islamic Republic’s energy sector once US-led sanctions are lifted.

At the beginning of 2012, the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors over its nuclear energy program.

On January 12, Iran and the Sextet of world powers finalized an agreement to start implementing their Geneva nuclear deal sealed in November 2013. The accord is aimed at setting the stage for the full resolution of the West’s decade-old standoff with Tehran over its nuclear energy program.

In exchange for Tehran’s confidence-building bid to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the Sextet agreed to lift some of the existing sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The European Union sources told AFP on Thursday, the bloc will commence partial lifting of sanctions against Iran on Monday right after Tehran starts putting the Geneva deal into effect.

By Press TV

 

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