“We are raising an issue of moving to joint standards on the basis of the Institute of Oil and Gas Technology Initiatives, join our international standards,” he said following the meeting of the Russian-Iraqi intergovernmental commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation.

Earlier Russian companies looked into Iraqi equipment supply tenders, though their documents required the American Petroleum Institute standardization compliance, which automatically deprived Russia of chances due to sanctions, the minister explained.

“We cannot take part in tenders due to this, though we have much equipment, with which we can enter [the Iraqi market], not only on oil production and refining, but also on electrical equipment,” Tsivilyov noted.

Russia has also successfully negotiated this issue with Kuwait and the UAE, he added.

“This is a good opportunity to move to standards close to American standards but much wider and enabling us to participate in tenders,” the minister stressed.

MP/