TEHRAN, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Venezuela signed a number of contracts for cooperation in oil sector, Shana News Agency affiliated to the Iranian Oil Ministry reported Tuesday.
The contracts were signed between Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji and his Venezuelan counterpart Pedro Rafael Tellechea in Caracas on Monday local time, the report said.
It added the deals pertain to cooperation in the development of oilfields and oil terminals and the restoration of petrochemical and refining capacities.
Cooperation between Iran and Venezuela in the oil sector entered a new phase following the signing of a preliminary agreement last year between the two countries to develop Venezuelan refineries using Iranian technical know-how and equipment, the report said.
Owji said Iran exported over 2.8 million refinery spare parts to Venezuela in the past 20 months, Iran's IRIB news agency reported.
Owji made the remarks in an address to reporters on the sidelines of his visit to the Venezuelan capital Caracas as a member of the high-ranking political and economic delegation accompanying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
Together, Iran and Venezuela sit on 40 percent of the world's oil reserves, according to Shana.
Both countries' oil industries are under U.S. unilateral sanctions, it said.
Despite the sanctions, Iran has managed to domestically manufacture 85 percent of the needed equipment for its oil industry, Shana added.
Raisi said having common "interests, views and enemies" has made relations between Tehran and Caracas "deep and strategic."
He made the remarks at a joint press conference attended by his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on Monday evening local time, after 19 cooperation documents were signed in the presence of the two presidents during their meeting, according to a statement published on the website of the Iranian president's office. ■
