TEHRAN, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Iran is in a good position to provide fuel oil and diesel to its immediate neighbors and will reap the benefits in return, an executive director said.
Mostafa Kashkouli, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Co., said new operations expected from the offshore South Pars gas field could be a resource for the fuel needs of Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Given their potential for income generation and hard currency earnings, liquid fuel exports herald a bright perspective for the country," he said Sunday.
The director said his company has deals in place already to send fuels to Afghanistan. Talks are under way with Iraq, which could see Iranian petroleum resources arrive through a cross-border pipeline as early as 2015.
South Pars accounts for about 35 percent of the total volume of gas produced from Iran. In the past, the government has held out the field's output as an option for a European economy trying to find a way to diversify an energy sector dependent on Russia.
Iran's export options are limited by sanctions enforced in response to its controversial nuclear research program, which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes.
