Indonesia expects to sign an initial deal on Sunday with Iran for the purchase of crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), an official at Indonesia's state energy company, Pertamina, said on Friday, providing no further details.

Indonesia's energy minister Sudirman Said is heading to Iran on Sunday, a ministry spokesman, Sujatmiko, said separately, Reuters reported.

The energy minister is also expected to join the OPEC meeting in Vienna on June 2.

Earlier in March, Iran and Indonesia inked an MOU on expanding cooperation in oil, gas and petrochemical industry, among other fields, the Shana news agency reported.

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

An 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.

Sudirman also attended the meeting, where he said upstream oil and gas sector, as well as data and technology exchange were the main areas in which the two sides can cooperate.

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

Meanwhile, Wiratmaja said Iran offered to supply crude oil, condensate and 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, in the meeting, Iran also offered Indonesia to take advantage of the growing business opportunities in the country. Pertamina and Saka Energy were 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 in mid-January.

(Source: agencies)