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| 2003/08/03 |
Iran, Japan talks on oil continue
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08:42:11 �.�
Vienna, Aug 3 - Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said here that talks with Japanese consortia for the development of massive Azadegan oil field were continuing, but he did not say how far the chances of reaching a deal was.
"We were (are) emphatic on continuing negotiations with Japan as a Priority (since) it is in Asia," he said on the sidelines of an OPEC meeting.
Tehran offered preferential rights to Japanese consortia during President Mohammad Khatami's visit to Japan in 2000 to develop the Iran's biggest oil field for 2.8 billion dollars.
Japan in return pledged to grant a three-billion-dollar credit line to Iran over three years.
Press last month had cited the Iranian minister as saying that Tehran and Tokyo were close to clinch a deal on developing the huge field, which is estimated to hold 26 billion barrels of crude oil.
"Despite American pressures, the Azadegan oil deal with Japan is nearing finalization," the Persian daily Khorassan cited him as saying, thus dispelling speculation that Tokyo had bowed down to US pressure and pulled out of the venture.
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