The United States is pressuring Japan to invest in Libya's oil industry instead of a project to tap Iran's giant Azadegan oilfield that has provoked the wrath of Washington, a Bush administration official said, Reuters reported on Friday.
The United States, which imposes sanctions on American firms doing business in Iran, has persistently voiced its disappointment that Japan would invest in the Islamic Republic's $2 billion project.
Azadegan's estimated 26 billion barrels of reserves is one of the world's largest untapped finds and one of Iran's biggest international deals since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Japan signed on 18 February a landmark agreement with Iran to develop the oilfield, MNA reported.
A consortium of Japanese firms will hold a 75 percent stake in the project to develop the oilfield while a unit of Iran's state oil company, NIOC, will own the remaining 25 percent. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
