Iran wants to build refinery in Bulgaria

Iran is ready to discuss building an oil refinery along the Bulgarian coast of the Black Sea if Bulgaria is ready for the development, an official said. Golamreza Bageri Mogadem, the Iranian ambassador to Bulgaria, told the Sofia News Agency that Tehran was ready to invest in the construction of an oil refinery on the Black Sea coast. "As far as Iran is concerned there is no problem for realizing this project -- whether from the point of view of science, technology, capital, or management," he told the news service. "Iran has the needed capabilities." Sanctions on Iran from Western governments target the country's financial sector, making it difficult to process transactions. The minister said the matter was in Bulgaria's hands. "If the Bulgarian statesmen demonstrate a desire, we are ready to discuss with them this cooperation," he said. Bulgaria doesn't have a significant amount of oil reserves, though it's strategically positioned along the Black Sea coast. Iran expressed interest in the refinery in Port Varna last year.