Lukoil wants to return to the Anaran project in Iran, if possible, after sanctions are lifted, Lukoil’s Chief Vagit Alekperov was quoted by Itar Tass as saying.
“In our time, we discovered the Anaran oilfield on the Iranian-Iraqi border. Together with a Norwegian firm, we would like to return to this deposit. We know its geology and infrastructure,” Alekperov said. He explained that Lukoil withdrew from the project after sanctions had been imposed on Iran.
“Iran will be interested in attracting partners to develop its biggest oil deposits,” the Lukoil chief said. “We would like to be competitive in the Iranian market,” the company head stressed.
Lukoil started working on the Anaran block in Iran in 2003 but was forced to pull out after economic sanctions had been imposed on Iran. Lukoil cancelled its agreement with Gazprom Neft which had replaced it in the Anaran project in 2011.
Together with Norway’s Statoil, Lukoil conducted exploration works on the Anaran block in Iran. Azar and Shangule oil deposits were soon discovered as a result. The two companies discussed the possibility of developing the deposits with the Iranian authorities, but the contract was never concluded. Lukoil said later that they left the Anaran project due to the introduction of international sanctions against Iran.
The US imposed an array of sanctions on Iran to curb the country’s nuclear program, while Iran insists that the program is peaceful. Iran and P5+1 have been holding marathon talks over the past year to thrash out a mutually acceptable comprehensive deal. Iran and the world powers failed to meet a Nov. 24 deadline for resolving the 12-year-old dispute and gave themselves until the end of June for further negotiations.
