European Commission energy officials are preparing to visit Iran in the first half of February as part of a wider EC technical mission to boost cooperation now that EU sanctions have been lifted, an EC source said Monday.
"The aim is to explore possible avenues of cooperation in the nuclear and non-nuclear sector and pave the way for an official visit of [EU energy commissioner Miguel Arias Canete] at a later stage," the source said.
In November the chairman of Iran's state-owned National Iranian Gas Export Company, Azizollah Ramazani, said that Iran could export as much as 30-35 Bcm/year of natural gas to Europe after 2020.
He said that the most obvious route for gas to reach Europe would be by pipeline via Turkey, which would offtake gas on its way west.
The EU lifted its sanctions against Iran on Saturday after the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that the country had fulfilled its obligations under an agreement last summer to limit its nuclear program.
The visit in February is to also include officials from the EC's external relations, international cooperation and development, and research departments.
