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Gold/Mining/Energy : Lundin Oil (LOILY, LOILB Sweden) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Greywolf who wrote (2516)	6/14/2001 10:41:09 PM
From: Tomas	Respond to of 2742

Iran: Khatami's election win opens door for Western investment Upstream, June 11 By Nassir Shirkhani Iran passport to power President Mohammad Khatami’s landslide victory is bound to speed up further involvement of Western oil companies in Iran and encourage an earlier end to US sanctions against the Islamic republic. The victory clears the way for kick-starting the buy-back programme that has all but come to a halt because of wrangling over investment terms. The buy-back model has helped Iran win billions of dollars in foreign investment to develop its oil and gas fields. International companies had held back from signing new contracts with National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) pending the outcome of the 8 June presidential elections that gave Khatami almost 78% of the vote. NIOC is now likely to mark Khatami’s landslide win in the coming weeks by signing an agreement with Italy’s Eni to develop the southern onshore oilfield of Darkhovin under the current buy-back formula. A similar deal with Spain’s Cepsa is expected for development of the Cheshmeh Khosh field, also located in the southern province of Khuzestan. President George Bush's administration, which has welcomed Khatami’s re-election, is now lobbying for a two-year extension of the Iran Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) that expires in August. A powerful pro-Israeli lobby has been pressing for a full five-year extension of the law, which bars US companies from investing in the two countries. The ILSA also threatens to punish foreign oil companies investing in Iran and Libya. NIOC itself faces major changes following the election as the president’s supporters in the Majlis (parliament) want a merger of the oil and energy ministries in a bid to manage better national energy policy. The Energy Ministry is responsible for power generation and water resources. It remains to be seen whether Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh will run the new enlarged ministry.

To: Greywolf who wrote (2516)	6/20/2001 11:01:09 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 2742

Iran: BP to Washington: Time's Up. It seems unwilling to wait any longer for a deal with Iran Business Week, June 11 Stanley Reed in Tehran Abstract: It is one of the great prizes of the oil industry: the vast oil and natural gas wealth of Iran. John Browne wants a piece of the action. Browne's company, BP, is sending clear signals that it wants a deal soon with Tehran, whatever the state of relations between Washington and the Islamic regime. Full Text: It's one of the great prizes of the oil industry: the vast oil and natural gas wealth of Iran. John Browne, one of the most competitive petrobosses going, wants his piece of the action. Browne's company, BP, is sending clear signals that it wants a deal soon with Tehran, whatever the state of relations between Washington and the Islamic regime. Indeed, sources say Brown is considering projects that could add up to $10 billion. Browne has had to sit enviously on the sidelines as his European rivals TotalFinaElf and, more recently, Royal/Dutch Shell Group, signed major Iranian deals. TotalFinaElf currently has four projects worth more than $3 billion, while Royal/Dutch Shell has launched a project worth $800 million. Browne focused his efforts on North America--buying Amoco in 1998 and Arco in 1999. Before these mergers were wrapped up, he dared not roil Washington by dealing with Iran, one of the nations long targeted for sanctions under the Iran Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA) for its alleged involvement in terrorist activities. But with the two American companies safely in the bag, Browne no longer feels such restraint. Sources close to BP say Browne recently told Vice-President Dick Cheney, who was reviewing U.S. energy policy, that BP had been more than generous in waiting for the situation between the U.S. and Iran to improve. According to sources, Browne said that it was unacceptable for Shell and Total to have access to Iran while BP was held back by its American interests. And were BP to invest in Iran, Browne implied that it would be unfair for the company to be hit with penalties while Shell and Total continue to operate in the Islamic Republic without sanctions. Under ILSA, the British-based company could be sanctioned. But so could TotalFinaElf and Shell -- and the U.S. has not moved to slap sanctions on those companies. BP will likely enter Iran if it finds the right deal. It is now eyeing several Iranian projects, the most important of which is probably an oil field at Ahvaz-Bangestan. The Iranians may choose foreign partners soon. BP is mulling a petrochemical project and is sinking money into a joint-venture lubrication oil plant, which is not sanctionable under ILSA. BP will build a mixing plant; the Iranians will supply the oil; and the lubricants will be marketed under the Castrol label. If BP lands a major Iranian deal, it could put pressure on the Bush Administration to rethink its sanctions against the Iranian state. For now, analysts expect ILSA to be renewed before it expires this summer and that the Presidential order against investment in Iran will remain in force. But a BP presence in Iran would drive the likes of Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. crazy. BP, after all, is in essence a half-American company. The oil lobby may thus intensify its push to get sanctions lifted. Browne, in any case, will not lose sight of his goal. Iran is sure to be a key hydrocarbon region in the 21st century, and he's looking hard for a way in.