TEHRAN The Norwegian state-owned oil company Statoil has signed a cooperation agreement with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), AFP quoted the electronic edition of the Norwegian newspaper Stavanger Aftenbladet as reporting on Tuesday.
The cooperation agreement concerns four projects: Exploration near the Strait of Hormoz, technology related to the liquefaction of gas, optimal use of productive capacity, and possible participation by Statoil in exploration of the Salman oil field.
In the long term Iran could become one of the core geographical areas for Statoil, said the report, which comes as Norwegian Oil Minister Olaf Akselsen is making a visit to Tehran.
Norway's Saga has reportedly inked a major exploration deal in Iran's resource-rich western Province of Ilam, which holds 11 and 2.5 percent respectively of the Islamic Republic's gas and oil reserves.
The visiting Norwegian minister in a meeting with Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi here on Tuesday urged the expansion of Tehran-Oslo cooperation, particularly in the oil sector.
Pointing to the existing potentials of the two countries in the fields of oil and gas, Akselsen said that his current visit to Iran reaffirms that Iran and Norway could embark on further positive, constructive and consolidated relations.
According to the Norwegian minister, rich resources, existing potentials and capabilities and exchange of know-how and experiences of the two countries could pave the way for further expansion of mutual cooperation. He also expressed the hope that ties between the two countries would be upgraded in all fields.
Referring to the effective role played by Iran in regional and international developments, Kharrazi assessed as useful mutual cooperation between Iran and Norway in important regional and international issues to restore stability, peace and security to the world.