Late on Saturday, the European Union, the United Nations and the United States lifted sanctions on Iran, opening the door to closer EU-Iran energy cooperation, Reuters reported.
The EU executive is particularly keen to develop Iranian supplies as an alternative to Russia, whose powerful role as a source of around a third of EU oil and gas has divided the bloc.
‘A first technical assessment mission in the field of energy to Iran will take place at the beginning of February,’ Arias Canete said in a statement. An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said around 15 EU representatives would go on the initial four-day technical visit and after that, a high-level commission staff, possibly with a business delegation, would travel to Iran. Arias Canete said potential areas for cooperation included all energy sectors—nuclear, oil, gas, renewable energy and energy efficiency.
In particular, he mentioned developing liquefied natural gas and also pipeline shipments through a route the European Union refers to as the ‘Southern Gas Corridor’ to carry supplies into southern Europe as an alternative to Russian gas.
Since Moscow’s seizure of Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014, EU tensions over reliance on Russian energy have escalated.
German firms have joined a project to double the amount of Russian gas shipped directly to Germany, bypassing Urkaine, drawing fierce opposition from countries such as Poland.