Turkey eyes oil refinery in northern Iran

TEHRAN, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- The governments of Iran and Turkey announced a $2 billion joint venture to establish a crude oil refinery in northern Iran for possible exports to Europe.

Iran and Turkey announced a series of energy deals following a visit to Tehran by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Turkish government announced plans recently to invest as much as $4 billion to develop the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf.

South Pars holds an estimated 450 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves, which represents about 47 percent of the total reserves in Iran.

The northern oil refinery agreement was signed by top oil and environmental officials from both countries. The meeting included discussions on the transit of petroleum products to Europe through a subsidiary in Turkey, the Fars News Agency reports.

The report says Tehran is in negotiations with more than 30 companies for operations in Iran.

Iran faces severe economic sanctions over its controversial nuclear program. The latest series of sanctions include U.S.-backed measures targeting foreign companies doing business in the Iranian energy sector.