(Ecofin Agency) - South African oil companies and Iranian officials are to meet next month in order to discuss the resumption of oil imports.

Deputy Energy Minister Thembisile Majola (photo) stated that South Africa was planning on building a crude oil refinery and that Iranian crude oil would be refined there to add to the existing liquid-to-gas plant in Mossel Bay.

Iran used to be South Africa's biggest oil supplier before Western sanctions ceased the supply. The West recently has agreed to lift the sanctions against Iran and the actual implementation of the agreement could happen early next year. « There is a visit that has already been scheduled for them to come to South Africa in October and they will get the opportunity to speak to the oil companies, » Majola told Bussiness IAfrica adding that PetroSA had agreed to help Iran build a gas-to-liquid refinery.