Iran has reached a framework deal to export 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to Bahrain and the two countries are now "one step closer" to a final agreement, the state-owned Iran newspaper reported on Saturday. Iran, which sits on the world's second largest gas reserves, has said it would prefer to sell gas to nearby Gulf states but has been slow to reach any export deals.
A contract with the United Arab Emirates has been held up for years. The newspaper quoted Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari as saying Tehran and Manama had signed a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) during his visit to Bahrain this week.
"We got one step closer to signing the agreement," Nozari was quoted as saying. The report said the two sides reached a "framework" for a deal but gave few details. Nozari said the gas would come from the country's South Pars field. Iran and Bahrain signed another MoU in 2007.