BP Amoco’s investment talks with Iran are going smoothly and the company is keeping the U.S. State Department informed of all developments in order to avoid drawing Washington’s wrath, a top company official said on September 22nd.
BP Amoco’s head of exploration and production, Dick Olver, said that: “It’s a good conversation and my guess is it will mature quickly. My sense is they (Iran) would like us to help them.” The company is taking pains to obey U.S. laws threatening sanctions against oil companies investing in Iran.
“The attitude we’ve taken on this is to make sure that whatever we do, we tell the State Department what we’re doing,” Olver said. “So we’ve been radically open, incredibly transparent.”
BP Amoco is one of several Western oil companies interested in oil and natural gas investment opportunities in Iran. Royal Dutch/Shell, TotalFinaElf, Lasmo and BP Amoco are all interested in a $4.13 billion project to double capacity at the Bangestan onshore oil fields to 600,000 b/d.
Italy’s ENI defied U.S. policy on Iran under the Iran/Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) in signing its $3.8 billion July 27th deal to develop phases four and five of Iran’s giant South Pars field, but with Clinton signing “national interest” waivers in 1998 for the Total-led consortium developing phases two and three of the South Pars project, it has become clear to many in Washington and the international oil community that ILSA is an empty threat.
( oilnavigator )
