Iran mulls investment stakes in foreign refineries

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran holds a stake in a refinery project in Malaysia and is considering taking stakes in projects in five other countries, the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Engineering and Construction Company (NIOEC) was quoted as saying on Monday.

Hamid Sharif Razi said the NIOEC holds a 30% stake in a 250,000-bpd refinery project in Malaysia, and was planning to take a 40% stake in a 300,000-bpd refinery in Indonesia, according to the Shana news agency.

The NIOEC is also in talks with South Africa, Sierra Leone, Brazil and India, he said, adding the purpose of the projects was to guarantee Iranian crude exports and, if necessary, a source of product imports.