Anadolu Agency’s Energy News Terminal quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Senior Fellow Robert Manning on Iran’s talks with China for oil and natural gas trade and energy investments:
Robert A. Manning, a resident senior fellow of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the US-based Atlantic Council, said China is pursuing a mercantilist energy security strategy.
“Chinese state oil companies have been aggressively investing in overseas production. They have focused on Iran for more than a decade, and are ready to jump as soon as sanctions are lifted,” he elaborated.
Manning said Chinese companies are likely to take the lead in foreign investment in Iran’s oil and gas sectors.
“One motivation for the nuclear deal is reviving its economy,” he said, elaborating “the key to that is obtaining new investment in its declining oil and gas sector, which is a core part of its economy and major source of revenues.”
“To do this, Iran needs to get sanctions lifted and to create a more attractive investment climate,” he underlined.