Russian Lukoil announced Thursday that they and partner Norsk Hydro hoped to sign a development deal for Iran's Azar oilfield. "We are very hopeful that this can be signed in April," Viatcheslav Kosmynin, Lukoil's director in Iran, told Reuters. "We have submitted the development plan to Iran with our partners Norsk Hydro and are negotiating terms."Norsk Hydro and Lukoil worked together on an exploration contract for the field and discovered oil there in 2005. The companies later said the field holds 2 billion barrels of oil. Hydro held 75 percent of the exploration license, while Lukoil held 25 percent.