Nicholas Kitikiti said his country is in the midst of talks with Iran for renovating an old oil refinery, Mehr news agency reports.
The two countries have agreed that Iran will supply the bulk of the fuel for the refined oil produced at the installation.
Zimbabwe has also told Iran it needs low-sulphur diesel. Transporting diesel to Zimbabwe will require special facilities on account of that country’s problems with storing and transporting petroleum products, an issue Iran will have to address if it agrees to the proposal said Mr. Kitikiti.
In 2006, the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) signed an agreement to refurbish Zimbabwe’s Feruka oil refinery. That project hasn’t moved ahead yet.
Uranium to Iran
Zimbabwe is to defy United Nations sanctions in a deal to sell uranium to Iran.
He said that Zimbabwe, which is also the subject of sanctions over human rights abuses perpetrated by President Robert Mugabe’s supporters, would benefit economically from the agreement.
A leaked intelligence report suggests Iran will be awarded with exclusive access to Zimbabwe’s uranium in return for providing the country with fuel.
The report – compiled by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog – said Iran’s Foreign and Co-operative Ministers had visited Zimbabwe to strike a deal, and sent engineers to assess uranium deposits.
Experts say the move contradicts Iran’s claim that it now has enough domestic uranium supplies to sustain its nuclear energy ambitions. They say Zimbabwe’s defiance of sanctions and its support for the pariah state will scare those considering investing in its economy, which is only just starting to recover after years of hyperinflation.
Uranium ore, or yellow cake, can be converted to a uranium gas which is then processed into nuclear fuel or enriched to make nuclear weapons. The UN imposed fresh sanctions on Iran last year after it refused to halt uranium enrichment.
Zimbabwe’s uranium stocks consist of an estimated 455,000 tons at Kanyemba, north of Harare. One metallurgist with knowledge of the deposit said it would take two to three years of development before it produced uranium and it would be exhausted in about five years. Mr Mumbengegwi said: “Zimbabwe has rich uranium reserves, but is faced with shortage of funds and does not possess the technical knowledge and equipment needed for extracting [them] … Any country has the right to use peaceful nuclear energy based on international rules.”