A senior Iranian official on Tuesday welcomed South Korean investment, stressing that Iran's energy sector projects offer huge potentials for investment by South Korean companies.
Ali Asghar Arshi, an adviser to deputy oil minister, said Iran will bring long-term benefits to South Korean and other foreign businesses because its oil and gas sectors offer high profit, low risk and attractive development prospects.
Speaking at the Global Energy Security Conference in Seoul, the official highlighted investment opportunities in oil and gas development, refineries, petrochemical industry and energy efficiency projects.
He estimated that Iran's energy sector will require more than $173 billion in its upstream, midstream and downstream projects, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
In January, Korean news website, Chosun Ilbo, reported that South Korean companies are preparing to return to Iran's market in the post-sanctions era.
According to the website, South Korea was Iran's fourth trade partner until 2012, when the US ratcheted up sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear energy program.
South Korea's deputy trade minister also said in early September that Seoul is planning to increase crude oil imports from Iran after sanctions against Iran's economic sectors are lifted.
"The amount of Iranian oil imports has halved since the sanctions, but the quality of Iranian crude oil is quite good and its condensate is very useful," Woo Tae-hee told Korean media following his recent official visit to the Islamic Republic.
The Korean official added that if sanctions on Iran are lifted, "We may have to discuss increasing the oil imports once again."