TEHRAN (ECOIDEAL)- Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi announced that his country has restored the level of crude exports to the European countries to the pre-sanctions era.
"One of the most important fields (of cooperation) between Iran and the EU is energy and, of course, oil and gas play a highly important role in this regard," Araqchi said on Tuesday, addressing the inauguration ceremony of the new round of high-level talks for cooperation between Iran and the EU participated by Helga Schmid, the deputy of the EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini, in the Central Iranian city of Isfahan.
"Iran's crude exports to Europe have returned to the conditions before the sanctions and we have deals with Total and other countries," he added.
Araqchi also announced that Tehran and the EU are also reviewing ways to increase their cooperation in the field of renewable energies.
Iran has more than doubled its oil exports to about 2.4m barrels per day since Tehran's nuclear pact with the world came into effect in January 2016, and is desperate to attract more investment in the sector to upgrade decaying infrastructure and develop fields.
European signatories to the agreement — the UK, France and Germany — have been lobbying hard to prevent the US from killing the deal and consider foreign investment as critical to ensuring its survival. Russia and China, which also signed the deal, are also supportive of the accord.
France’s Total signed a $4.8bln contract in July to develop the South Pars gas field and has said it remains committed to the project as long as international regulations allow it to do so.
Source: Farsnews