Iran negotiating oil deal with Japan

This may well be Iranian propaganda painting a picture of normality under siege

Tehran's Major Oil Customer in Japan to Continue Purchasing Iranian Crude

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran and its largest oil customer in Japan, Showa Shell Sekiyu KK, are discussing a new agreement for purchasing Iranian crude oil by the Japanese company in 2012.

Fars,

19 March, 2012

The company, which runs the fifth biggest refinery in the country and buys about 100,000 barrels of Iranian crude oil per day, has sent a delegation to Tehran to seal a deal with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) over the 2012 contract. 

On February 20, the Japanese company announced that it will continue to import crude from Iran despite the Western sanctions against the Iranian oil sector. 

Showa Shell said it will continue to import about 100,000 barrels per day of Iranian crude oil despite mounting pressure from the United States to cut Iran oil imports. 

Iran is the fourth-biggest crude supplier to Japan and the Iranian crude accounted for 8.8 percent of total Japanese imports in 2011. 

Also in February, Tokyo's Ambassador to Tehran Kinichi Kumano stated that "Iran has always been and will always remain a vital source of energy for Japan." 

The Japanese government and private firms are seeking a waiver from the US economic sanctions against Iran, Kumano told FNA at the time. 

"The status quo will have to change so that the interests of both Iran and Japan are fulfilled," he noted. 

Iran Planning Output Increase in Joint Oilfields

TEHRAN (FNA)- Senior Iranian oil officials announced that the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) plans to boost extraction in joint oilfields.

Fars,

19 March, 2012

Managing-Director of the National Iranian Offshore Oil Company (NIOOC) Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh said on Sunday that increasing the output from joint oilfields was one of the priorities of his company. 

He further voiced Iran's preparedness to to cooperate with Kuwait for the expansion of the Arash joint oilfield. 

The massive Arash field's reserves are believed to contain around 20 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas. 

The field is shared by Iran, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia where it is known as 'Dorra' and is a contested area between Tehran and Kuwait. 

Kuwait claims it owns more than 50 percent of the field, while Iran believes that the two countries have equal shares. 

Zirakchianzadeh added that Iran had officially offered the positive diplomacy of cooperation instead of unitization to the Kuwaiti side. 

Earlier, Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi had underlined that the development of Iran's Joint Oil and Gas fields sets the main priority for his ministry. 

Speaking in a meeting with directors of the oil and gas companies active in the South Pars region, the oil minister said that development of joint oil and gas fields is the first priority of the oil ministry in both land and sea border regions 

Also in 2011, Tehran and Baghdad agreed to set up joint expert committees to finalize technical and financial details of a deal over developing joint oil fields. 

The two countries have 23 joint oil fields in their border regions.