Shell set to return to Iran

Shell confirmed on Monday it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran’s National Petrochemical Company to co-operate in petrochemicals.

The energy giant is returning to Iran after more than six years of international isolation and sanctions against the country that holds some 10% of the world’s known crude-oil reserves.

“We can confirm that we have expressed our interest to further explore potential areas of co-operation with the National Petrochemical Company through a letter of intent,” Shell representatives told AFP.

Though discussions of specific investments have not been made public yet, Iranian representatives said they hoped to move quickly on joint collaboration in the downstream sector in particular.

“With the wisdom that we see in the people working in our country’s petrochemical industry, without a doubt the projects of this company will be executed sooner than oil and gas projects,” Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Amir Hossein Zamaninia told the Iranian oil ministry’s news agency Shana.