3.5m barrels of oil swapped in Caspian Sea last year

He made the remarks on the sidelines of the 23rd International Oil Exhibition.

Mousavi said swap operation began last year after several years of operations were halted.

He added that currently this operation is being made only by one country, but Iran plans to increase the destinations.

In swap operation, oil consignment from Caspian Sea littoral states deliver their oil in North Oil Terminal located in Neka city and the same amount will be exported from Kharg Island Terminal.

He said in recent years investment programs were planned to accelerate exports, including renovation of wharfs, pipelines and undersea pipelines.

The 23rd International Oil, Gas, Refinery and Petrochemical Industry Exhibition kicked off on Sunday by participation of 1,053 Iranian companies and 600 foreign firms from 37 countries.

Representatives from Azerbaijan Republic, Austria, Spain, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, Italy, Belgium, Turkey, Czech Republic, China, Russia, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, France, Croatia, South Korea, Poland, the Netherlands, India, Finland, Hong Kong, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Monaco, Canada, Liechtenstein, Oman, Denmark, Taiwan, the US, Norway, Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, Singapore participated in the fair.

The exhibition will be open in Tehran until May 9, 2018.

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