TEHRAN – Russia’s largest private oil firm Lukoil is prepared to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran, the Shana news agency quoted Amir-Hossein Zamaninia, the Iranian deputy oil minister for international and commercial affairs, as saying.

“The Russian company has announced readiness for participation in enhanced oil recovery plans of Iranian oilfields,” Zamaninia said following a meeting between Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh and Lukoil Managing Director Vagit Yusifovich Alekperov in Tehran on Thursday.

Enhanced oil recovery, which is also called improved oil recovery, aims for increasing the amount of crude oil that can be extracted from an oilfield.

Also, “the two sides discussed Lukoil’s cooperation in exploration activities,” Zamaninia further added, while noting, “Lukoil chief executive also called for purchases of crude oil and oil products from Iran.”

Lukoil and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) officials have held negotiations about Russia’s second largest energy company’s resumption of a project to develop the Azar field in Iran’s Anaran block.   
     
The Russian company and Norway's Statoil started developing the Anaran oil field in 2003 but pulled out in 2011 when the US and Europeans intensified sanctions on Iran.

Lukoil reopened its office in Tehran in April, with Alekperov saying his energy group would return to Iran as soon as the sanctions were lifted.

Officials have said the Anaran project would be Lukoil's primary focus but the company was studying geological data from other projects as well.

Iran shares Azar with Iraq which calls it Badra. Russia’s Gazprom Neft operates the field and currently produces around 28,000 barrels per day from the field.

AK