Iran-Russia signs $1 bn oil deal

Russia and Iran tighten relations in oil field building together five platforms in the Persian Gulf; the deal, which is worth a billion dollars, also involves the gradual transfer to Iran of the necessary offshore technologies, and this "is a dream come true", as stated Ehsanollah Mousavi, managing director of Iranian company TODC.

The agreement was signed by the shipbuilder, russian Krasnye Barrikady and the Iranian company TODC: the project, for $ 1 billion, involves the construction of five offshore platforms in the Persian Gulf. According Ehsanollah Mousavi, CEO TODC (Tasdid Offshore Development Company), the agreement provides for the construction of an offshore platform every two years off the Iranian port of Khorramshahr, situated in the extreme south-west of Iran, on the mouth of the Arvand River (also known as Shatt ul Arab).

The platform will be used for exploration of the Persian Gulf seabed and exploration of oil and gas fields; the project will be funded and implemented commonly by Iran and Russia and it is important because it will transfer to the Islamic Republic of Iran the know-how for the construction of offshore platforms, said Press TV.

"According to the timetable, domestic share in the construction of the first drilling rig will be 58 per cent. This will gradually rise during the implementation of the project as technology transfer into the country takes place," Mousavi said.