Tehran, IRNA- Iran’s Minister of Petroleum Javad Owji has separately met with his counterparts from Russia and Venezuela in Algiers to explore ways to increase cooperation in the oil and gas sector.

The meetings were held Saturday on the sidelines of the 7th summit of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) in the Algerian capital, where officials from 13 energy-rich countries have gathered to explore opportunities and address challenges in the energy industry.  

Owji and Nikolay Shulginov, Russia’s energy minister, reviewed the progress of existing agreements between Iran and Russia in the development of oil and gas fields during their meeting, which was also attended by representatives from major Russian companies such as Zarubezhneft and Gazprom.

Central to their discussions was the potential establishment of a gas hub within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, spanning the Eurasian region.

The officials also discussed the possibility of signing new contracts to jointly develop oil and gas fields with Russian companies.

Separately, the Iranian oil minister met with his Venezuelan counterpart, Pedro Talavera. The two underscored the importance of deepening bilateral cooperation in the oil trade, petroleum products, and petrochemicals.

They emphasized the need to follow up on existing contracts and exchanged views on how to overcome obstacles on the way of their execution.

Talavera praised the performance of Iranian companies in executing projects in Venezuela, including the development of the country’s main oil port of Jose and the reconstruction of the El Palito refinery.

The two sides also discussed the possibility of signing new contracts to further expand cooperation between Iran and Venezuela in the oil and gas industries.

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