TEHRAN, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Iraq on Sunday discussed the ways to enhance energy cooperation, local media reported.
Iranian Petroleum Minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, and his visiting Iraqi counterpart Jabar al-Luaibi exchanged views on topics of mutual interest, Tehran Times daily reported.
Both sides talked over the shared oil and gas fields in the border regions as well as cooperation in energy investment, developing infrastructures, and training.
Extractions from shared oilfields was a topic of discussion, al-Luaibi said, adding that the two sides also exchanged views on transfer of oil from Iraq's city of Kirkuk to Iranian refineries.
Iran and Iraq will sign an agreement in the current year or the next year on producing oil from two shared fields, said al-Luaibi.
The ministers also discussed latest developments in the global oil market with an emphasis on boosting cooperation in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Besides, Iran's Petroleum minister noted that Iran will start gas exports to Iraq's southern city of Basra city over the next few months.
Once the Basra pipe is made operational, Iraq is expected to import around 80 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) of gas from Iran.
Iran and Iraq share 23 hydrocarbon fields. Iran is yet to start developing the oil fields it shares with Iraq, while its western neighbor has already started producing oil from most of them, Press TV reported.
The two countries are also working on a plan based on which crude oil would be piped from Iraq to the refineries in Iran's northwestern Tabriz city and western Kermanshah city. Iran would later return the byproducts obtained to Iraq.
Iran started exports of seven to eight mcm/d of natural gas to Iraq's capital Baghdad in June. The exports are expected to reach as high as 35 mcm/d in the near future.
