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Iran to grant development of two of its major oil fields to Chinese companies

Gholam-Reza Manouchehri, the deputy director for engineering and development affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said that China’s CNPC will be awarded the development of the second phase of North Azadegan project. 
Manouchehri added that the second company, Sinopec, will be awarded the development of the second phase of Yadavaran project. Both are located in Iran’s southwestern province of Khouzestan. The official added that negotiations between the related officials from Iran and China on both projects have entered final stages during last week visit to Beijing by Iran’s Minister of Economy and Financial Affairs Mr Ali Tayyebnia. He added that a delegation from China will arrive in Tehran in the next few weeks to finalize negotiations over the remaining aspects of the projects. Manouchehri said CNPC and Sinopec possess “vast financial resources” to carry out the development of North Azadegan and Yadavaran projects. He added that Iran’s decision to award the projects to the Chinese companies was in line with Tehran’s strategy to promote economic relations with Beijing. Tayyebnia arrived in Beijing on Monday at the head of a high-ranking delegation to participate in the 16th meeting of the Iran-China joint economic commission, which was held on Tuesday and Wednesday. During his stay in the Chinese capital, Iran signed two memorandums of understanding with the Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM) and China Development Bank (CDB) to provide loans for its key development projects. Tayyebnia also said that Tehran is determined to expand its relations with Beijing in all areas.