TEHRAN The Japanese government is to send an economic mission to Iran for five days starting July 15 to study the investment climate in the country, Kyodo news agency said Thursday.

Citing the Foreign Ministry, Kyodo said that the 80-member delegation comprising representatives from some 30 companies and organizations would "exchange views with Iranian government officials and business leaders and tour facilities such as a car manufacturing plant and an oil refinery."

The mission will be the first of its kind to be sent by Japan to Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, according to the agency. It will also be the largest government-dispatched mission to the country since the revolution.

Officials with Japan's Foreign Ministry and Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry will accompany the delegation, headed by Nobuyuki Masuda, chairman of the Federation of Economic Organizations' Japan-Iran Economic Cooperation Committee. Masuda is also chairman of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries LTD.

Last November, then Japanese prime minister Yoshiro Mori told Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who was visiting Tokyo, that Japan hoped to send an economic mission to Iran in mid-2001 as part of bilateral efforts to boost economic cooperation.

In the meantime, another IRNA report citing the same news agency said that the Japan National Oil Corporation (JNOC) is planning to develop Iran's South Pars gas field in cooperation with a number of private Japanese companies.

The Royal Dutch/Shell Group may join the consortium, which also includes Indonesia Petroleum Ltd. (INPEX), a Tokyo-based oil developer and plant engineering firm JGC Corp., the agency said quoting industry sources.

Located near the Persian Gulf, South Pars is one of the world's largest natural gas fields and the Japanese consortium is considering the launch of gas production in 2005.

Although details of the exploration plan have yet to be worked out, gas from the field may be consumed in Iran and used to produce liquefied natural gas and other fuel products.

Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma, now on a trip to the Middle East, is expected to present the plan to the Iranian government on Sunday, Kyodo said.

Also in Iran, a group of INPEX and other Japanese concerns are seeking approval to develop the Azadegan oil field, one of the largest in the country.

Last Saturday, the Italian energy group ENI and Iran sealed an oil field contract worth one billion dollars in what will be the first test of extraterritorial U.S. sanctions under George W. Bush's presidency.

The agreement is of the "buyback" type in which the contractor provides all the financial resources and implements the development operation.

Iran is the second largest exporter in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries with exports of 3.6 million barrels per day.

It is pressing Western companies to defy Washington and invest in its new oil and gas projects, despite opposition from Washington.

European and Asian oil companies since the imposition of U.S. sanctions have secured a number of projects with Iran and are lining up for more, undeterred by the 1996 U.S. Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA).