Iran, Turkey sign energy cooperation deal, agree to develop Iran's gas fields

[TexasLawyer]

Source: AP

Iran, Turkey sign energy cooperation deal, agree to develop Iran's gas fields
The Associated Press
Published: July 14, 2007

TEHRAN, Iran: Iran and Turkey have signed a deal on energy cooperation and agreed to develop part of the giant South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf on buyback basis, state-run radio reported Saturday.

"It was agreed that Turkey would develop three phases - 22, 23 and 24 - of South Pars and offer the gas produced to Iran on buyback (basis)," state-run radio quoted Iranian Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh as saying.

Hamaneh said the two sides would sign an official contract on development for the gas field within the next four to six months, after the completion of feasibility studies by Turkey. The radio also said Iran and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation but didn't elaborate.

Iran has a 28-phase plan to develop by 2012 its part of the gas field, shared with Qatar in the Persian Gulf waters, Dow Jones Newswires reported. Tehran has increasingly resorted to emerging nations to develop its oil and gas fields because of U.S. sanctions. The sanctions aim at barring Iran from capital and technology transfers by major oil firms in industrialized nations.

<snip>

Read more: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/14/business/ME-FIN-Iran-Turkey-Energy-deal.php

[Purveyor]

1. I read where the US is poking at China over their trade with Iran also. Perhaps

this also contributed to China's ban on some USA meat products.

[pinto]

2. A reminder that the world *does* go on, with or without us.

[roamer65]

3. Hmmm...interesting with 200,000 Turkish troops...

ready to go into Iraq. We're not far from the forceful partitioning of Iraq and a ME war. I see Turkey and Iran agreeing to carve up Iraq together.

[IndianaGreen]

4. When Chavez signed a similar deal with Iran, he was accused of being a terrorist and an anti-Semite

Our NATO partner Turkey now does the same thing, and nothing is being said. Abe Foxman at ADL is not sending out angry e-mails. Condi Rice is not warning Turkey as it did Venezuela.

What gives?

[Orrin_73]

5. Turkey is an independent nation

and not a colony of the us. It has every right to have diplomatic and economic relations with Iran.

[Dover]

6. Iran/Russia's dueling pipeline projects and bid for the EU market

IHT

...Iran, Turkey and the Austrian energy company OMV AG have been in discussions since January to form a joint-venture that would supply gas to the proposed Nabucco pipeline that should run from Iran and Central Asia through Turkey to Europe.

The resulting joint venture could see Iran providing more than half the 31 billion cubic meters a year of gas that the pipeline would deliver to Europe.

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IRAN: Pressures Eni, Omv to Commit to Deal
2007-05-23 07:57:00
By Andrea R. Mihailescu May

Tehran wants Italy`s Eni and Austria`s OMV to commit to developing parts of the giant South Pars gas field project. Iran has asked Eni to make a formal decision by July. 'Negotiations with Petropars and Eni (about developing phases 19 to 21 of South Pars) are going on,' said Akbar Torkan, managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Co. Torkan said the company gave Eni a two-month deadline, after which it would decide which one of the companies would have the right to participate in the project. Meanwhile, the U.S. ambassador to Austria warned OMV in official comments to the Austrian press that it could face possible sanctions if it committed to participating in the South Pars development. Iran is struggling to keep its falling oil and gas exports from mature and producing fields high, which involves huge investments and access to advanced technology that it hoped to acquire from international oil companies.

http://www.topblogarea.com/rss/commit.htm

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Iran/OMV ink deal:

http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=44200

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Proposed Nabucco pipeline

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabucco_Pipeline

EU (Nabucco) Pipeline Loses Momentum:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/26/business/EUgas.php

...Russia already supplies a quarter of the bloc's natural gas. But the EU's demand for gas is expected to rise to 720 billion cubic meters, or 25.4 trillion cubic feet, in 2015 from around 500 billion cubic meters in 2005, and Nabucco was supposed to meet part of this demand.

"You have to remember that Turkey depends on Gazprom," Engur said. "We have to have good relations with Gazprom. In any case, Turkey, as a member of Nabucco, wants to open up the gates for gas from Azerbaijan and Iran so that there can be diversification." Once Nabucco is running at full capacity, probably by 2025, Engur said, 15 percent of Europe's natural gas supply could come from Central Asia.

Analysts said the delays and divisions inside the consortium were being exploited by Gazprom, which they said appeared determined to capture as much of the market as soon as possible in southeastern Europe, part of the route mapped out for Nabucco.

Gazprom, tightening its grip on the market in Europe even before the construction of the Nabucco project has started, recently forged separate deals with OMV and Mol, even though these two companies are part of Nabucco.

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Putin's role in the pipeline deal (as EU tries to ween itself off Russian gas dependency)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0518/p06s02-woeu.html



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I don't think missiles were the only topic of discussion when Putin met with Bush Sr. and Jr. recently at Kennebunkport.