TOKYO, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Akira Amari said Friday he expected talks with Iran to continue on the Azadegan field past the Sept. 30 deadline.
"I do not believe a contract will be terminated entirely on Saturday," he said at a news conference Friday.
On Sept. 18, Gholamhoseyn Nowzari, the head of state-run National Iranian Oil Co., said Japan's INPEX had until Sept. 30 - a previous deadline was set for Sept. 15 -- to start work on the Azadegan oil field and that if the issue remained unresolved, the contract will be considered null and void and Iran will pay some money to INPEX for what has been already done.
Inpex holds the concession for Azadegan field, but says it hasn't started $2 billion development work yet because Iran has not begun a process of demining the area. Azadegan is estimated to hold 26 billion barrels of crude.
"I am aware of rising tensions over this issue, but all we can do is observe the developments with a sense of urgency," Amari said at the news conference.
The comments were reported by the Kyodo news agency.
Amari also noted that Iran's nuclear program - which the international community says is being used to clandestinely build nuclear weapons - remains a factor in relations between the two sides.
"This (the nuclear issue) matter cannot be resolved by only one company or one country. Japan does not have an excellent idea to cope with the situation," he said. "The government is responsible for stable energy supply, but at the same time it should seek nuclear nonproliferation. We face a very difficult dilemma."
