Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 6
By Aygun Badalova – Trend:
There is a very strong probability that Russian energy companies will start to enter the oil and gas market of Iran before the complete lifting of sanctions, Vladimir Sotnikov, the senior fellow at the International Security Center of the World Economy and International Relations Institute and the Near and Middle East Department of the RAS Institute of Oriental Studies told Trend Oct. 6.
“The partnership with Iran has already begun to take shape, in particular in the economic areas,” he said.
The expert said that Russian companies will take some steps towards cooperation in the oil and gas sector of Iran before the complete lifting of sanctions.
“The scheme of operations of energy companies will look like this: first, everything will be prepared for entering the oil and gas sector of Iran,” Sotnikov said. “Real contracts will still be concluded after the lifting of sanctions.”
He believes that Russian companies, of course, will face great competition from big western companies that are already sending their representatives to Iran.
“However, I think that it would be more profitable for Iran at the moment to deal with Russian companies,” Sotnikov said. “The Iranians are very interested in any support of their efforts to reanimate their oil and gas sector. Russian companies can offer and already now offer more favorable terms than the expected arrival of Western energy companies.”
Earlier, Russian media reported that LUKOIL and Gazprom Neft have expressed interest in work on the Iranian market among the local companies. In particular, in late August, LUKOIL Vice President Leonid Fedun said the company is still interested in the Iranian Anaran project, the projects offshore of the Persian Gulf, but it will observe what will happen with the lifting of sanctions against Tehran.
The media reported that Lukoil expressed willingness to sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with Iran.
In summer, the head of Gazprom Neft Alexander Dyukov also said that the company is interested in working in Iran after a possible lifting the sanctions against the country.
In addition, in early August, Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky said that the resumption of Russian oil and gas companies on the market of Iran may not require a mandatory conclusion of an intergovernmental agreement.
Edited by CN
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @AygunBadalova
Follow us on Twitter @TRENDNewsAgency
