Iran's deputy oil minister for international affairs, Mehdi Hosseini, told the Iranian News Agency that energy issues had dominated meetings with a visiting Japanese delegation, which arrived in Tehran on Monday.
He said the meetings were a prelude to the commissioning of the first joint Iran-Japan energy committee, adding that in 2 days of talks, the energy situation in Japan, Southeast Asia, Iran, and the Middle East had been reviewed.
Topics of discussion also included improving production, consumption patterns in oil and gas, and the utilization of compressed natural gas in vehicles.
Hosseini added that an agreement relating to Japan-Iran cooperation on oil, gas, and electricity has been signed with the 12-member Japanese industry and international trade ministry delegation, headed by Hirofumi Kono, the director-general of the Natural Resources and Energy Agency.
Since 1993, Hosseini said, agreements between the two countries have been limited to trade in crude oil. Japan is currently importing 500,000 b/d of crude from Iran, or 1% of the country's total imports, the official noted.
Hosseini said that because of Japan's experience and expertise in environmental issues, more than 100 Iranian personnel would be dispatched to Japan for advanced training in the field.
Hosseini noted that it was further agreed that teams of Japanese experts would study the feasibility of using compressed natural gas, along with undertaking studies on the use of liquefied natural gas.
Other issues included Japanese participation in Iran's buy-back tenders, as well as developments in upstream and downstream oil projects.
The two countries also agreed to hold discussions on exchange of information in the electricity sector.
