Concerned about stability, Iran relaxes rationing, signs oil deal with Vietnam
TEHERAN — Iran's state oil firm and Vietnamese oil group Petrovietnam signed a $115 million deal for the exploration of the Islamic state's southwestern Danan oilfield near Iraq, the official IRNA news agency said.
Meanwhile, the regime is moving to ease gas rationing restrictions, nine months after they were imposed, as its restive population has turned to the black market for fuel.
Western firms, responding to UN and U.S. sanctions over Iran's development of nuclear weapons, have been wary of investing in Iran, but the same restraint has not been demonstrated by Asian countries facing increasing demand for oil.
Iran, the world's fourth-largest crude oil producer, has in recent months concluded deals with firms from China and several Southeast Asian nations.
On March 11, Iran announced a deal for a refinery in Indonesia capable of producing 300,000 barrels per day.
Iran's Economy Minister, Davoud Danesh-Jafari, said the regime had "no choice" but to offer Iranian drivers extra gasoline, despite higher inflation.
"Many of our people, if they are in need of fuel, and they have no access to it, they are willing to get it at a higher price from others," Danesh-Jafari said in an indirect reference to the black market.
