A senior Iranian Oil Ministry official said Monday that it may be possible for Japan to resume its participation in an Iranian oil field development project from which it withdrew nearly five years ago due to effects of strengthened U.S. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.
The official told Kyodo News that Japan might be able to return to the project to develop an oil field in Azadegan, southwestern Iran, in a signal that the Middle Eastern country seeks to gain the high technical capabilities of Japanese companies.
According to the Japanese news agency, The Iranian government was dissatisfied with the contributions of a Chinese firm following Japan's withdrawal, and is apparently hoping that the recent agreement between Iran and six major powers to curb Iran's nuclear program may prompt Japan to come back to the project.
When Japan withdrew from the project in 2010, then Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mir-Kazemi showed a certain degree of understanding that Japan's action resulted from the United States' position, but noted that Tokyo may not be able to take part in such projects in the future, the report said.
'The senior official said the final decision on whether to accept Japan rests with current Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, but added that the minister has a favorable view concerning Japan's participation in Iran's oil projects,' according to the agency.
Tokyo-based Inpex Corp., partly owned by the Japanese government, had a stake in the project to develop the Azadegan oil field, considered to have one of the largest crude oil reserves in the Middle East. But it had to pull out after the United States reinforced its sanctions on Iran.
After that, China National Petroleum Corp. acquired a stake in the project. Iran, however, said in April last year that it dissolved its contract with the Chinese state-run company due to delays in development, the Kyodo report added.