Iran urges Koreans to invest in oil plans

A senior Iranian official on Tuesday welcomed South Korean investment in his country, stressing that there is a huge potential for South Korean companies to benefit by investing in Iran’s energy sector projects.

Ali Asghar Arshi, an adviser to the deputy minister of Iran's Ministry of Petroleum, said his country will bring long-term benefits to South Korean and other foreign businesses because its oil and gas sectors offer high profit, low risk and attractive development opportunities.

Speaking during the Global Energy Security Conference in Seoul, the official highlighted investment opportunities in oil and gas development, refineries, the petrochemical industry and energy efficiency projects.

He estimated that Iran's energy sector will need more than $173 billion in its upstream, midstream and downstream projects, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

In January, the Korean news website, Chosun Ilbo, reported that South Korean companies are preparing to return to Iran’s market in a post-sanctions era.

According to the website, South Korea was Iran’s fourth trade partner until 2012, when the US ratcheted up sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear energy program.

South Korea’s deputy trade minister also said in early September that his country is planning to increase crude oil imports from Iran after sanctions against Iran's economic sectors are lifted.

“The amount of Iranian oil imports has halved since the sanctions, but the quality of Iranian crude oil is quite good and its condensate is very useful,” Woo Tae-hee told Korean media after his recent official visit to the Islamic Republic.

The Korean official added that if sanctions imposed on Iran are lifted, “we may have to discuss increasing the oil imports once again.”

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