By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com,

Iran and Russia are strengthening their economic and energy cooperation and consider joint development of another Iranian oilfield, top officials from the countries said on Wednesday.    

Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev led a high-level Russian delegation on a visit to Tehran this week during which Tsivilev and Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad discussed deepening the economic and energy cooperation.

In the face of increased pressure from U.S. sanctions, Iran and Russia have boosted their bilateral relations to strategic cooperation and Russian companies help develop oilfields in Iran.  

“Within the framework of four contracts and in the field of development of oil and gas fields, we are jointly implementing the development of seven oil fields with Russian companies, and fortunately some of these projects have led to production, which is considered a valuable achievement,” Paknejad said on Wednesday, as carried by Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency, IRNA. 

Some of these oil and gas fields have started up production, the officials said.  

Commenting on this week’s Iran-Russia talks, a senior official at the Iranian Oil Ministry said that the share of Russia-developed fields in Iran’s oil production is set to double in the coming years. 

Russia is currently investing in seven Iranian oil fields, which account for about 6% of Iran’s total oil production, said Mostafa Barzegar, Director General for Europe, America and the Commonwealth of Independent States at the Ministry of Oil’s International Affairs Department.  

Expectations are that the share could jump to 12% over the next few years, Barzegar said. 

In the energy sector, the official said that cooperation in oil and gas is one of the pillars of Iran–Russia relations, Iran News Daily reports. 

Iran and Russia have also signed a $25-billion memorandum of understanding for the construction of new large-scale and small-scale nuclear power plants in the Sirik region in southern Iran.