Iran will export 80,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas to Indonesia in two shipments under a new contract that could increase to 500,000 tons next year.
The agreement was reached in a meeting between Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh and Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said in Tehran on Monday.
"Iran's economy is open to Indonesia's public and privately-run companies for trading crude oil, natural gas, petroleum products, petrochemicals and joint investment in refineries and oilfields," Zanganeh said.
He added that Iran is willing to secure the supply of feedstock for Indonesia's refineries in the long run.
"Iran and Indonesia have always maintained cordial relations and averted any frictions. We look at Indonesia as a large economic hub in East Asia," he said.
Zanganeh also called on Pertamina, Indonesia's state-owned oil and natural gas corporation, to play a bigger role in Iran's energy projects, adding that "bilateral relations begin with short-term trade agreements … We have no limits in relations with Indonesia."
The LPG deal comes as expectations in the buildup to Sudirman's visit had mounted for greater cooperation and more marquee deals.
According to an Indonesian ministry spokesman, the two sides were poised to sign a short-term contract on Iran exporting 120,000 barrels of crude oil.
In an interview with METRO TV in Jakarta, Indonesia, Iran's Minister of Economy Ali Tayyebnia recently announced that Iran is ready to provide Indonesia with 200,000 barrels of oil per day.
"Central Java oil refinery's much-needed crude, whose processing capacity stands at 120,000 bpd, can be imported from Iran as the quality of the Persian Gulf state's oil is matching the refiner's standards."
Indonesia joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 1962, but suspended its membership in 2009. It rejoined the group in January.
The largest economy in Southeast Asia and the 5th-largest in Asia, Indonesia was ranked the world's 23rd largest oil producer in 2014.
The country's current output is around 800,000 barrels a day. That stacks up against Iran's 3.5-million-bpd production recorded by the International Energy Agency in April.
