British Ambassador in Tehran Robert Macaire voiced his country's support for British companies seeking to work in Iran's oil and gas sectors.
"Iran's market has massive potentials and private British firms and investors have envisaged plans to operate in the country," Macaire was also quoted as saying by the Iranian Oil Ministry's portal, Shana, on Wednesday.
Macaire made the remarks in a meeting with Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh on the sidelines of the signing ceremony of a heads of agreement (HoA) between the National Iranian South Oil Company and Pergas, a London-based consortium of international companies, for developing Karanj Oilfield in the southwestern Khuzestan Province.
When the two sides reach a final deal, which will be within the framework of Iran Petroleum Contract—the new model of Iran's oil and gas contracts, the field's output will rise to 200,000 barrels per day, which currently stands at 120,000 bpd.
The overall plan envisages the extraction of 655 million barrels from the reservoir within a 10-year period. Direct and indirect costs of the plan are estimated to reach $1.167 billion and $187 million respectively.
Macaire added that talks are underway for the cooperation of other British firms in the country, but their names will not be revealed up until agreements are signed.
--- UK Backs JCPOA
Referring to Iran's landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the ambassador said, "We strongly stick to the deal and are seeking solutions to guarantee the agreement's benefits for Iran."
He said that are differences between the European countries and the United States over their understanding of the pact.
US President Donald Trump, in a unilateral annulment a week ago, announced he planned to reimpose an array of sanctions lifted by the accord, including those on the country's key oil and gas sector.
However, top European diplomats on Tuesday agreed to follow through the 2015 nuclear deal despite Trump's decision. They also expressed their support for European investors in Iran.
The HoA marks Iran's first foreign oil pact since the US withdrew from the nuclear deal.
Zanganeh also hoped that the UK government will endorse the agreement.
The veteran minister added that he expected European countries to make up for the US “betrayal” of the nuclear deal and support western companies that sign deals with Tehran.
The agreement was announced on the same day that French oil and energy company Total said it would not continue with Iran's South Pars Phase 11 project if it couldn’t secure a waiver from US sanctions.
Zanganeh said Tehran would spare no efforts to maintain its oil production and exports at current levels and predicted it would overcome the difficulties resulting from the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
“The current situation will pass and Iran will emerge as a winner… Iran is a peace-seeking nation and honors its contracts,” he said.
