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Iran could also pass a law allowing foreign companies to invest in Iranian projects by the end of the year, the CEO of Russia's second biggest producer added on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. However, Alekperov was quick to point out that until the law is passed no concrete steps would be taken, Platts reported.

"Based on the latest meetings I had in Vienna during OPEC, it is around September or October this year. It is mostly agreed on, according to my information, but there are minor details left. But as a rule, those details are always where the problems hide," the Lukoil CEO said.

"We are working on studying Iran, there are territories that are attractive to us, there is preliminary agreement. But Iran today has no law allowing investors to invest in Iran's territory. It has been discussed for nearly three years now, we hope it will be passed at the end of this year, so that we could evaluate it and start working on it," Alekperov said. It is the key law for investors to gain access to Iran's oilfields.

Lukoil, which had been a key player in Iran before international sanctions were imposed, has yet to return, unlike some of the other key oil companies such as Total which quickly struck up a deal this year to take Iranian crude.

Anaran interest

"We have two memoranda on zones of interests that we're analyzing. At this point we're just analyzing the data. Of course we are interested in returning to the Anaran project that we used to work on with Statoil," he said.

Lukoil worked at Iran's gigantic onshore Anaran Block along with Norway's Statoil prior to international sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear program.

Alekperov cautioned that the terms had to be right to allow Lukoil to reinvest.

"We today consider exploration projects and projects that require rehabilitation — those that have been launched but haven't reached the planned production level. We are capable of investing today to increase those projects' [flow]," he added.

Iran plans fewer than 20 projects as part of the first tenders for the IPC. It has said in the past that it will have its IPC ready and approved in June to soon put out the tenders.

Earlier this month, Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh stressed it was very lucrative for international energy companies such as Total, Lukoil and Eni to invest in Iran. "Oil [production] in our region is very low. In Iran, it costs a maximum of $10 per barrel.

"First we announce the fields and ask companies to come forward and [declare] their interests in any of those fields. We evaluate the companies based on their technological and financial capabilities and then we put the tender documents at their disposal."

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Figures released by the statistical office of the European Union (EU) showed that on a yearly basis, industrial production increased by two percent in the 19-member eurozone, Xinhua wrote.

The increase of 1.1 percent was due to production of durable consumer goods rising by 2.3 percent, capital goods by 1.9 percent, non-durable consumer goods by 1.6 percent, intermediate goods by 0.4 percent and energy by 0.3 percent.

Among member states, the highest increases in industrial production were registered in Ireland at 6.7 percent, with the largest decreases in Croatia at minus 2.8 percent.

Analysts said the latest figures signaled a strong start to the second quarter.

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Chinese and Russian banks are seeking to set up representative offices in the area, Farhad Taqizadeh-Hesari, senior adviser to Qeshm Investment and Development Co., said in an interview.

One of Japan's largest banks is also negotiating on establishing a presence, he said, declining to identify the banks, Bloomberg reported.

"The aim for this financial center isn't to look onto Qeshm, but to be a window onto the mainland." he said. "There is much interest to enter Iran."

Iran's economy has traditionally relied on oil revenue and consumption by the internal market. That market provides opportunities for retail banking and project finance as the country vies to overhaul its infrastructure and spend billions of dollars expanding airports, transportation links and its energy sector after the lifting of economic sanctions in January.

The International Monetary Fund expects Iran's economy to expand four percent in the 12 months to March 2017.

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The Persian Gulf oil producer will raise capacity to about 3.2 million barrels a day by 2020 from 1.85 million currently by building five plants, said Abbas Kazemi, managing director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, in an interview in Tehran, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The country also needs about $14 billion in investment to upgrade units at five existing refineries to produce diesel that burns more cleanly than gradescurrently available in the country, he said.

Iran, OPEC's third-largest oil producer, is boosting energy output after international sanctions curbing its access to oil markets were eased in January. Since then, Iran has restored oil production near to pre-sanctions levels and raised output of natural gas at the offshore South Pars Gas Field, part of the world's largest deposit.

One of the new refineries, the 360,000 barrel-a-day Persian Gulf Star, is scheduled to start operating by March, Kazemi said. The refinery will process condensate — the light oil found in gas deposits. Iran is seeking to use its condensate to make diesel for transportation or naphtha for use in chemical plants.

New refineries

Private companies are developing the Siraf condensate refinery complex at the southern port of Assaluyeh in Bushehr Province. The planned complex of eight units, each with a capacity of 60,000 barrels a day, will process condensate from South Pars into naphtha.

"The only product they're short of is diesel," Tushar Tarun Bansal, an oil analyst at consultant FGE in Singapore, said Thursday. Transforming condensate into diesel will help Iran cut imports starting in the second quarter of 2017, he said.

Isfahan, Tabriz, Tehran, Bandar Abbas and Abadan refineries are to be upgraded, Kazemi said last Wednesday. The government will pay for Abadan plant's modernization and is seeking investors to fund the others, he said.

Japanese engineering company Chiyoda Corp. is conducting a feasibility study with Mitsui and Co. on the Bandar Abbas project, said Masaru Akamatsu, a Chiyoda spokesman. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is paying for part of the study, which is to be completed by the end of March, Akamatsu said. The modernization contract is worth about ¥300 billion ($2.8 billion), Japanese broadcaster NHK reported in February. Akamatsu declined to comment on the value of the potential upgrading project.

Daelim Industrial Co., based in South Korea, and Marubeni Corp. and Mitsubishi Corp., both with headquarters in Japan, are also interested in working on refinery projects in Iran, Kazemi said.

A spokesman for Daelim declined to comment, asking not to be identified because of company policy. Marubeni and Mitsubishi didn't immediately reply to requests for comment.

Iran plans also to build three new refineries: The 300,000 barrel-a-day Bahmangenoo plant at the port of Jask, a 150,000 barrel-a-day facility at Anahita in the western province

of Kermanshah, and the Pars refinery, which will process 120,000 barrels a day of condensate.

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The exchange said its domestic and exports halls traded in over 159,790 tons of oil and petrochemical products, including 40,860 tons of bitumen, 43,884 tons of polymer products, 19,371 tons of chemical products, 1,320 tons of sulfur, 450 tons of insulation and 40 tons of argon with the total value of $76 million during the last week, Fars News Agency reported.

In addition its agricultural trading hall also dealt in 8,000 tons of sugar, 400 tons of feed barley, 160 tons of rice and 400 tons of maize during last week.

Also, the exchange conducted transactions in 221,209 tons of metal and mineral products, including 159,783 tons of steel products, 4,950 tons of copper, 6 tons of molybdenum concentrate and 1.330 tons of aluminum with the total value of $97 million in the last week.

The IME was set up on September 20, 2007 in accordance with Article 95 of the new law of Securities Market of the Islamic Republic of Iran following the merger of agricultural and metal exchanges of Tehran. The merger marked a new chapter in Iran capital market providing endless trading opportunities for customers both at home and abroad.

Economic and industrial sectors benefit from the exchange. The IME currently offers various services, including:

Performing as the first market providing access to the initial offering of the listed commodities in the IME,

Price discovery and price making for Iran's over-the-counter (OTC), secondary markets and end users,

Providing venue for government sales and procurement purchases,

Providing trading platform and user interface,

Providing clearing and settlement services,

Risk management,

Technology services,

Training market participants.

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Refiners in India, Iran's top oil buyer after China, last month resumed settling their back debt of about $6.6 billion after the lifting earlier this year of the sanctions against Tehran had opened up oil trade and banking channels, Reuters reported.

The first payments were handled in May by state-run Union Bank of India via Turkey's Halkbank, which had previously handled payments before tougher European sanctions were put in place in February 2013.

But Union Bank has asked the refiners to raise their credit limits or deposit money in rupees a day ahead of initiating payments, sources familiar with the matter said, and refiners were fearful of delays in working down their oil debt.

Timely payment of the Iranian dues is crucial not only for future crude supplies but also for winning investments in Iran that would strengthen trade ties between New Delhi and Tehran.

From June, refiners have been making payments through State Bank and EIH, said government and company sources with direct knowledge of the matter, which should be quicker since most of the refiners have their main accounts at SBI.

A senior official at the Union Bank of India confirmed that his bank was no longer handling Iran oil payments, declining to provide further details.

No comment was available from Turkey's Halkbank, and EIH did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

State refiners take lead

Last month, state-run Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical, Indian Oil Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp together cleared $770 million in euros via Union Bank and Halkbank to National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).

So far state refiners are taking the lead in settling dues to Iran, aiming to wipe out their debt in three months after weekly limits were set by the Reserve Bank of India.

India has capped weekly dollar purchases by oil refiners at $500 million as they pay off their Iran debts to avoid pressure on the rupee.

Accordingly, Essar Oil was in June to start clearing about $260 million a week, followed by MRPL at about $200 million and IOC at about $30 million, with the rest coming from HPCL and its joint venture company HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL).

So far this month, MRPL and IOC have cleared about $330 million through EIH, the refinery and government sources said. Essar Oil, however, Iran's biggest Indian client with about $3 billion in debt, has settled only $100 million, they said.

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Referring to the fact that the Czech Republic's foreign policy considers a great importance for Iran, the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Martin Tlapa reiterated that the development of relations between Iran and the Czech Republic is on the right direction, IRNA reported.

Emphasizing the importance of Iran in the Middle East and its major role in solving regional issues, Tlapa said that the Czech Republic had recognized the importance of Iran's role in regional equations.

Referring to role of both countries' officials in developing bilateral cooperation especially economic ones, Tehran's charge d'affaires in Prague Ali Akbar Jokar said that the diplomatic and legal grounds to sign basic documents like double taxation avoidance and economic cooperation have been provided.

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The Dutch CBC Oil and Gas Company office in Tehran announced on Monday that Iranian oil companies can set up pavilions at the OEEC 2016, which is to be held at the Europe Complex of the Amsterdam RAI on October 25-26, Shana reported.

It will offer a good platform for Iran to network and create new business opportunities now that sanctions have been lifted following an agreement between Tehran and P5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany). The agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was finalized on July 14,2015 and implemented on January 16.

OEEC is the only dedicated offshore energy event in the Netherlands. Founded in 2008, the annual event focuses on the complete offshore energy industry, from oil and gas to wind and marine energy.

A  group of business leaders, buyers, investors, engineers and other interested parties within the offshore energy sector will get the opportunity to meet each other in three large halls of the Amsterdam RAI which spreads over an area of more than 26,000 square meters.

The 2015 edition attracted 11,865 participants representing 86 nationalities.

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Speaking in a meeting with Energy Charter Secretary General Urban Rusnák in Tehran, Chitchian said Iran can potentially be connected to Europe's power grid.

The Energy Charter Secretariat is in charge of facilitating relations between countries in the field of energy, Mehr News Agency reported.

Chitchian said Iran is currently collaborating with seven neighboring countries in import, export and exchange of electricity. "At present, Iran's electricity export exceeds its imports," he noted.

"Recently, an agreement was reached to connect Iranian and Russian electricity grids via transmission lines of Armenia, Georgia and Russia," he pointed out, adding, "Currently, we are linked with Armenia through two transmission lines while the third line is under construction."

Chitchian noted that a deal has also been reached with Azerbaijan Republic in order to reach the Russian power grid through the neighboring country. "Talks are also underway with Persian Gulf states to connect the power grids via undersea cables."

The visiting secretary general of Energy Charter Secretariat considered connection of power grids as a necessity to compensate for the shortage during peak electricity times. He added, "Any proposal by Iran will be welcome and we seek to find a suitable European partner to conduct relevant negotiations."

Stressing that European countries are desperately seeking to establish connections in the power sector with other countries, Rusnák said, "Electricity prices in central and northern Europe are very low and we will try to make a connection using Iran's extensive information."

The official maintained that the signing of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) by Iran is being pursued.

"We welcome Iranian experts and their suggestions regarding the interests of eager countries.

"All expenses of Iranian experts will be undertaken by the International Energy Charter Secretariat for them to continue negotiations on various aspects of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) in order to achieve good results," Rusnák concluded.

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The agreement was sealed during the visit to London by Mohsen Pourseyyed Aqaei, the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Railways (RAI).

The MoU, which seeks to develop Iran's railway system through the exchange of knowledge and technology, was signed in a ceremony attended by Pourseyyed Aqaei and his British counterpart. It calls for cooperation in the fields of process management, rail transportation systems as well as technical and technological management of railways, Mehr News Agency reported on Saturday.

During his meetings with two executives of Britain's Department for Transport (DfT) in London, Pourseyyed Aqaei referred to the steps to promote rail transport and movement of passengers and cargo in the country and offered the British side unparalleled investment opportunities in the sector.

The British side also pointed to the attractions of Iran for trade and economic cooperation voicing willingness to develop relations with the country in the rail transportation sector.

The MoU was signed as a follow up to the visit by Britain's Deputy Minister of State at the Department for Transport Robert Goodwill earlier this year.

During Goodwill's visit to Tehran, further cooperation between Iran and the UK, particularly in the field of rail transport and high-speed trains as well as in airports and aviation infrastructure, was emphasized.

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