Iranian Oil Minister Heads to Venezuela for Oil Refining Talks

The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji today departed the country for the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to hold talks with his Venezuelan counterpart, Pedro Telchia. The two ministers plan to discuss joint refining, engineering, and petrochemical projects, including the modernization of Venezuela's refineries. Last year, a group of Iranian state-owned companies completed the upgrade of Venezuela's smallest oil refinery and is expected to continue working on developing a larger facility. Up until last year, Iran and Venezuela exchanged heavy crude for condensates in a major swap deal that allowed them to circumvent U.S. sanctions. According to IRNA, the volume of oil trade between Iran and Venezuela has surged to between $3.5 billion and $4 billion since August 2021 when the agreement began.