US firms seek oil deals in Iran

A total of 860 domestic companies and 505 foreign companies will participate in the International Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Exhibition in Teheran.

By YANIV BERMAN/THE MEDIA LINE NEWS AGENCY
Iranian Oil 224.88 (photo credit: AP)
Iranian Oil 224.88
(photo credit: AP)
American oil companies will take place in the 13th International Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Exhibition (IOGPE) in Teheran beginning April 16, Iranian media outlets report. A total of 860 domestic companies and 505 foreign companies will participate in the IOGPE, including companies from the US, England, Japan and Canada, Exhibition Manager Mohsen Aghajani told the media. "Coinciding with the 100th birthday anniversary of the oil industry in Iran, the five-day exhibition is planned to open on April 16," added Aghajani. Iranian officials emphasized that the participation of foreign companies from 30 countries is proving their opposition to the American sanctions. "This indicated that they are disregarding pressures imposed by the world powers to isolate Iran from economic arenas," Iranian Deputy Minister for Oil Sekhavat Asadi told Iran's Petroenergy Information Network (PIN). "It is important first of all from the [oil] industry point of view, because with more than 4 million bpd, Iran is an oil-producing country which cannot be dismissed by any company - sellers of equipment, sellers of services and so on," Dr. Manouchehr Takin, a senior petroleum upstream analyst with the Centre for Global Energy Studies in London, told The Media Line. "From the political point of view, I think the fact that politics has not hindered or stopped the exhibition is a significant point. This means that business takes priority over politics," added Takin. Until date of publication, The Media Line has not identified the American oil companies that intend to participate in the IOGPE. According to the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, it is forbidden for "US persons to trade in Iranian oil or petroleum products refined in Iran." Americans are also not allowed to finance such trading, and they "may not perform services, including financing services, or supply goods or technology, that would benefit the Iranian oil industry."