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In the meeting, Iran's Deputy Energy Minister Alireza Daemi and Member of the South Australian House of Assembly Martin Hamilton-Smith discussed cooperation between the two countries in the fields of water and renewable energies.

"Iran is keen to work with Australian companies on climate change, renewable energies, desalination of seawater and finance," Daemi said.

Hamilton-Smith hoped for promoting research and academic cooperation between Iran and Australia in the water management, energy, desalination and renewable energies areas during the post-Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action era.

In a relevant development in late September, Tehran and Canberra signed several new agreements to broaden their cooperation in different areas.

"Iran and Australia concluded fresh agreements to forge closer ties," Australian Trade Minister Steve Ciobo announced.

Ciobo reiterated that a new era of cooperation between the two countries has started. "I am leading a trade delegation of more than 20 companies specializing in different industrial fields to study the cooperation prospects in mining, oil and gas fields.

"We are in the dawn of a new age of the relationship with Iran," Ciobo said in meeting with a group of businessmen in Tehran.

He noted that one of the agreements deals with cooperation between the Australian and Iranian banking sectors on sharing information, and said, "Another concerns sharing Australian expertise and technologies to help Iran manage scarce water resources."

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Topside 19B, weighing 1,640 tons, was successfully installed on the jacket of the platform.

This was the last structure in the offshore section of the South Pars Phase 19 that can extract up to 14.2 mcm/d of gas.

The platform will become operational in April after the hookup and startup operations are over.

The platform was built at a cost of $150m, said Hamid Reza Masoudi, the operator of SP Phase 19 project.

Gas production from the phase began in April 2016 and has so far supplied 7.2 million barrels of gas condensate and 5 billion cubic meters of gas.

Masoudi said 61 percent of the designing, engineering, construction, startup and operation of the phase was carried out by Iranian engineers and specialists.

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Hamidreza Massoudi on Sunday praised the efforts of domestic experts to implement the development plan for Phase 19 given the significant progress made in the projec .

The official further announced that production of butane and propane has started in Phase 19, adding that currently, about 14 tons of each are produced per hour.

South Pars Gas Field, whose development has been divided into 28 phases, is located in the Persian Gulf straddling the maritime border between Iran and Qatar.

It is estimated that the Iranian sector of the field contains 14 trillion cubic meters of gas and 18 billion barrels of in-situ condensates.

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Mohammadreza Motamedi said Arvand Free Zone drew foreign investments to the tune of $105 million in sectors such as food industry, wind power plant and chemicals

He added that in the past year, 10 countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, India, France, Kuwait, Britain, Austria, China, Germany and Iraq, invested in the zone.

Foreign investments in Arvand Free Zone, he pointed out, have increased since the implementation of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the July 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.

Arvand Free Zone, which is located along the Persian Gulf, extends over an area of 172 square kilometers and lies on the borders with Iraq and Kuwait.

Motamedi's remarks come against the backdrop of a new wave of interest in ties with Iran after Tehran and the P5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) reached a conclusion over the text of a comprehensive 159-page deal on Tehran's nuclear program on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.

The comprehensive nuclear deal terminated all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran.

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Last year, the 19th Annual Steel Symposium was held in Kish Island in Hormuzgan Province with the participation of only 25 foreign companies, said the Secretary of Iron and Steel Society of Iran Ali Shafi'ei.

He added that 165 domestic companies are taking part the event.

The official listed some of the some participating as Germany, Britain, France, India, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and Turkey.

According to figures released by World Steel Association (WSA) February 21, Iran produced 1.52 million tons of crude steel in January, showing a growth of 11.3 percent compared to the figure for the same month of 2015, which was 1.36 million tons.

The country produced 17.895 million tons of crude steel last year, showing a rise of 10.8 percent compared with the figure for 2015, which was 16.146 million tons.

Iran ranked 14th among crude steel producers in 2016 to remain unchanged from its standing in 2015 and 2014.

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Over 417,510 domestic and international flights were conducted via 49 Iranian airports last year, which is 17 percent more than the figure for 2015, aviationpros.com reported.

Also 496,125 tons of cargo was transported via Iranian airports in the one-year period — an increase of 11 percent compared to the amount for the preceding year.

Tehran's Mehrabad Airport was the top Iranian airport in terms of flights with over 132,245 flights, followed by Mashhad International Airport (70,084 flights) and Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport (53,359 flights).

About 16 million passengers were transferred via Mehrabad Airport, while 10 million passengers used Mashhad Airport in the 12-month period.

Also 7.8 million passengers were transported from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport.

Iranian airports handled over 40.542 million passengers in Iran's domestic flights (338,582 flights), while 11.308 million passengers were transferred via 78,928 international flights last year, according to the report.

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Iranian authorities have been keen to attract foreign investors after the end of sanctions on the country.

Parliament approved on Saturday an item in the state budget for the Iranian year starting on March 21, which allows the Oil Ministry to issue $3 billion worth of the rial and foreign-currency-denominated bonds.

Under another budget line passed on Saturday, the ministry can issue up to 50 trillion rials ($1.5 billion) worth of the bonds, it added.

According to the text of the proposed budget, the $3 billion in bonds are to be used to repay ministry debts for existing projects and the $1.5 billion bonds are to be used to finance new oil and gas projects.

After being passed by parliament, the entire budget has to approved by the Guardians Council that vets legislation before it becomes law.

Iran has signed a flurry of deals with Western companies over the past year since the easing of international sanctions on Tehran after an accord was reached over its nuclear program.

Iran needs foreign investment for repairs and upgrading of its oil and gas fields. It also seeks the transfer of technology to its oil industry after a decade of sanctions.

In November 2016, France's Total became the first oil major to sign a big deal with Tehran since the lifting of sanctions and agreed to help it develop the world's largest gas field, South Pars.

Shell signed a provisional deal in December to develop Iranian oil and gas fields South Azadegan, Yadavaran and Kish in December 2016.

Iran has named 29 companies from more than a dozen countries as being allowed to bid for oil and gas projects using the new, less restrictive contract model.

The firms include Shell, France's Total, Italy's Eni, Malaysia's Petronas and Russia's Gazprom and Lukoil, as well as companies from China, Austria, Japan among other countries.

Russia's Zarubezhneft signed an MoU for a feasibility study on two joint fields in the west of the country.

Norway's International Aker Solutions Company signed an MoU to modernize Iran's oil industry.

Austria's OMV signed in May an MoU for projects located in the Zagros area in western Iran and the Fars field in the south.

South Korean Daewoo Engineering and Construction (Daewoo E&C) signed an MoU to construct an oil refinery in Bandar Jask, on the southern coast of Iran.

Italy's Saipem signed MoUs to cooperate on pipeline projects, upgrading of refineries and development of Tous gas field in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi.

Norwegian oil and gas company DNO said it was the second Western energy company after Total to sign a deal with Iran under which it agreed to study the development of the Changuleh oilfield in western Iran.

Lukoil, Russia's second biggest oil producer, hopes to reach a decision on developing two new oilfields in Iran.

Germany's Siemens AG signed an MoU in May to overhaul equipment and facilities at Iran's oil operations and refineries.

BASF's Wintershall oil and gas exploration subsidiary signed an MoU with the National Iranian Oil Company in April 2016.

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The approval is a part of the budget bill for the next fiscal year which is being debated in the Parliament.

Based on the bill, the Oil Ministry should take steps to export gas to the EU and neighboring countries, which are not buying oil from Iran, employing the potentials of the private sector if the gas output exceeds 1,000 million cubic meters per day.

Iran's gross gas output currently stands at 820 million cubic meters per day, while its commercial gas output reaches 700 million cubic meters per day.

The Parliament approved general outlines of the national budget bill for the next fiscal year on February 21.

According to the draft budget bill, the price of a barrel of oil is calculated at $50 for the next fiscal year. Some 20 percent of the national oil revenue will be channeled to the National Development Fund.

The draft has envisaged Iran’s revenue from oil exports at 1,100 trillion rials (about $33.3 billion).

Iran, which has the world's largest natural gas reserves in the world, strives to sell natural gas in the European markets soon.

However, the country lacks necessary export infrastructure to meet its gas sales. There is no transit gas pipeline linking Iran and the EU.

The country may either construct new pipeline via Turkey or build a connector to the Trans-Anatolian pipeline — TANAP (Turkish leg of the Southern Gas Corridor).

Head of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) Hamidreza Araqi said earlier that Iran wants to raise its share in the global gas trade from the current one percent to 10 percent, increasing gas export, including LNG, up to about 60-80 bcm by 2021.

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The figure was €7.68 billion in 2015.

Iran's exports to the EU reached €5.46 billion in 2016, with 4.5-fold rise from €1.23 billion in the preceding year. The noticeable increase is due to the EU's resumption of oil imports from Iran.

Following the lifting of sanctions against the country in January 2016, Iran has been trying to regain its traditional clients with Greece and Italy as a priority.

While the EU's imports from Iran rose noticeably in 2016, its exports to the country increased by only 27 percent and reached €8.24 billion from €6.45 billion in 2015.

In April 2016, Iran and the EU issued a joint statement in Tehran setting the road map for cooperation. The statement was released by Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini who visited Iran along with seven European commissioners.

The two sides, taking stock of their long standing relations based upon mutual respect and interests, reiterated their intention to develop a broad and comprehensive agenda for cooperation.

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Bijan Namdar Zanganeh added that a contract was still being pursued with Total but noted that recent comments by Total's chief executive indicated it was awaiting feedback from the United States.

"From the information I have, the policy of the European Union is not subordinate to the United States," Zanganeh said.

"We will take the necessary steps to go ahead with the contract. But we also have a complaint as to why such things are being said."

Total plans to make a final decision on investing in a $2-billion gas project in Iran by the summer, but the decision hinges on the renewal of US sanctions waivers, Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said earlier this month.

Zanganeh said that no decision has been taken to stop the signing of new contracts but that some contracts have not been finalized since it is a time consuming process.

In November 2016, France's Total became the first oil major to sign a major deal with Tehran since the lifting of sanctions and agreed to help it develop the world's largest gas field, South Pars.

Shell signed a provisional deal in December to develop Iranian oil and gas fields in South Azadegan, Yadavaran and Kish in December 2016.

Iran has named 29 companies from more than a dozen countries as being permitted to bid for oil and gas projects using the new, less restrictive contract model.

The firms include Shell, France's Total, Italy's Eni, Malaysia's Petronas and Russia's Gazprom and Lukoil, as well as companies from China, Austria, Japan among other countries.

Russia's Zarubezhneft signed an MoU for a feasibility study on two joint fields in the west of the country.

Norway's International Aker Solutions Company signed an MoU to modernize Iran's oil industry.

Austria's OMV signed in May an MoU for projects located in the Zagros area in western Iran and the Fars field in the south.

South Korean Daewoo Engineering and Construction (Daewoo E&C) signed an MoU to construct an oil refinery in Bandar Jask, on the southern coast of Iran.

Italy's Saipem signed MoUs to cooperate on pipeline projects, upgrading of refineries and development of Tous gas field in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi.

Norwegian oil and gas company DNO said it was the second Western energy company after Total to sign a deal with Iran under which it agreed to study the development of the Changuleh oilfield in western Iran.

Lukoil, Russia's second biggest oil producer, hopes to reach a decision on developing two new oilfields in Iran.

Germany's Siemens AG signed an MoU in May to overhaul equipment and facilities at Iran's oil operations and refineries.

BASF's Wintershall oil and gas exploration subsidiary signed an MoU with the National Iranian Oil Company in April 2016.

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