TEHRAN (UPI) -- Iran and Iraq are moving closer to finding common ground on the exploitation of oil fields straddling their shared border, an Iranian executive said. Mehdi Fakour, managing director of the National Iranian Central Oil Co., told SHANA news agency that Tehran was moving closer to finding common language on cooperation in border oil fields. ""NICOC intends to conclude a contract with the Iraqi side so that it meets the interests of both countries and the two sides are able to pursue their common issues,"" he said. Energy officials in Tehran said in July that as much as 35 percent of a federal energy development budget will go toward the development of joint oil fields. Iran has shared oil fields with most of its neighbors in the Persian Gulf region as well as Turkmenistan.