Iran’s Oil Minister in Venezuela to Deepen Bilateral Ties
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji has traveled to Venezuela for talks on the promotion of cooperation with the Latin American nation in the energy industry.
Owji, who left Tehran for Caracas on Wednesday evening, is going to hold meetings with Venezuela’s Petroleum Minister Pedro Rafael Tellechea, energy minister, and other high-ranking officials.
The Iranian oil minister will weigh plans for cooperation on a range of issues including the export of technical and engineering services to Venezuela, the construction of extraterritorial refineries, the overhaul of refineries, marketing for the private sector of Iran’s oil industry, especially in the petrochemical field, and investment in the oil and energy industries of Venezuela.
Iran’s oil industry has great capacities for active presence in the lucrative market of Venezuela.
Iran’s Oil Ministry has stepped up efforts in recent years to promote relations with the Latin American countries as part of the administration’s “energy diplomacy”.
According to statistics, the value of exchanges between Iran and Venezuela in the oil industry has hit $3.5 billion over the past 20 months. This includes trade in the oil and gas condensates, technical-engineering services, oil equipment, as well as rebuilding and overhauling the refinery complexes of Venezuela.