Joint Studies With Russia on Caspian Sea

Russia will soon expand its cooperation with Iran in comprehensive marine studies on the Iranian part of the Caspian Sea in a wide range of areas, the head of Geological Survey and Mineral Explorations of Iran said.  
Based on the initial agreements reached between the two sides, the investigations will focus on monitoring the structure of the layers beneath the sea floor up to 50 meters deep and identifying traces of active faults in the underwater sediments, ISNA quoted Khalil Bahar Firouzi as saying.
"The joint program will be run by GSME over the next two years as a subset of scheduled projects to be carried out in collaboration with the Russian Rosgeo state geological holding," the official noted. During numerous meetings between Iranian and Russian representatives, the initial draft of the agreement on conducting studies on southern Caspian Sea has been prepared, whose implementation is pending the required arrangements to sort out funding.