TEHRAN- Iran and Indonesia inked memorandum of understanding (MOU) on expanding cooperation in oil, gas and petrochemical industry, among other fields, the Shana news agency reported on Saturday.

An Iranian delegation traveled to Indonesia on February 23 to attend the two countries’ first joint economic commission, which was held in Bogor, West Java.

The agreement was signed on February 24 by Wiratmaja Puja, the oil and gas director general at Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, and Marzieh Riahi, the director of Asia and Pacific affairs at the Department of International Affairs of Iran’s Oil Ministry. 

Indonesia’s Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said also attended the meeting. 

During the meeting, Sudirman said upstream oil and gas sector, as well as data and technology exchange are the main areas in which the two sides can cooperate.

He added that Indonesia aims to build a chemical fertilizer-production facility in Iran.

Meanwhile, Wiratmaja said Iran offered to supply crude oil, condensate and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as well as to develop refineries in Indonesia. In addition, the two countries also agreed to develop human resources as well as conduct research and development together.

According to Indonesian newspaper, Jakarta Post, Sudirman revealed that a further meeting in Iran would be scheduled in two or three weeks to seek more opportunities both for Indonesian and Iranian firms.

Sudirman said, “There are nine or ten opportunities that can be explored further. Iran has many hydro power plants, which we will study, as well as twin turbine plants.”

Following the meeting on Wednesday, Wiratmaja said Iran’s crude oil would meet the specifications needed for Cilacap and Balongan refineries, whose supplies are now mostly fulfilled by Saudi Arabian’s oil. Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramco is currently also in cooperation with Pertamina to upgrade the Cilacap refinery in Central Java.

Meanwhile, Iran is also seeking to take part in the construction of an integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in Indonesia. The refinery capacity will be about 300,000 barrels per day.

Wiratmaja said, “The total investment will reach $14 billion, including the petrochemical industry, but only $8 billion without it.”

In the meeting, Iran also offered Indonesia to take advantage of the growing business opportunities in the country. State-owned oil and gas company, Pertamina, and Saka Energy are among those that were offered the opportunity to develop the upstream oil and gas sector in Iran.

Many major oil companies have expressed their interest in getting involved in oil and gas exploration in the country following the lifting of the sanctions.

SJ/MA/