"The roadmap had been enshrined in a preliminary agreement that my company had signed with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) earlier this week," Sechin said.
He reiterated that the agreement envisaged that Russia and Iran would cooperate over a number of "strategic" projects worth up to $30 billion.
Sechin said that the agreement which had been signed during the visit to Tehran by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin paved the way for legally-binding documents to be signed within a year.
"We are talking about several oil and gas fields, which we will develop with our partners,” he said, adding that Rosneft has also invited Iran to develop offshore and other projects in Russia.
The Russian official’s remarks came against the background of a rise in the level of cooperation between Iran and Russia over energy issues.
A key agreement that the two countries signed in 2014 on the same front involves purchasing up to 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iranian oil by Russia.
Based on it, Moscow would buy up to 500,000 bpd of Iranian oil in exchange for Russian equipment and goods. It called for swapping around 300,000 bpd via the Caspian Sea and the rest from the Persian Gulf.
NIOC Chief Ali Kardor was quoted by the media in Tehran as saying earlier that the agreement would come into effect "in the near future".
"Iran was about to receive 50 percent of payment in euros and the rest in goods and services," Kardor added.
Iran and Russia signed several agreements to promote cooperation over energy issues during President Putin’s visit. The agreements included one that envisages exports of natural gas from Iran to Pakistan and thereon India by Russian companies – most importantly Gazprom.
