My profile:
Azeri officials said Monday that they had signed an agreement to sell Iran a 5-percent stake in a $7 billion deal to develop Caspian Sea oilfields in a move that could weaken Russian-led opposition to the project.
The Azeri national oil company Socar struck the deal with Iranian Oil and Gas Minister Gholamreza Aqazadeh during his weekend visit to the former Soviet republic, said Rafik Abdulayev, an aide to Socar President Natik Aliyev, son of Azeri President Heidar Aliyev.
Abdulayev said that under the deal, Iran would construct a refinery in the Azeri city of Nikhichevan to process Iranian oil. He said the Persian Gulf state also planned to build a gas and oil pipeline from Iran to Nakhichevan to transport the oil to be processed.
Iran, which will gain 25 percent of Socar's 20-percent stake in the multinational Caspian Sea consortium, had previously joined Russia in rejecting Azerbaijan's claim to the oil resources covered by the deal, according a leaked letter from Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev to Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has long opposed the project on the pretext that all countries bordering the Caspian Sea must jointly control the sea's resources.
"Apart from Russia, Iran is reluctant to tolerate Azerbaijan's one-sided actions," Kozyrev's letter read, according to a report in the British daily The Independent.
But Abdulayev said that Azerbaijan's relations with Iran, as well as the Caspian Sea oil deposits, were none of Russia's business.
"If he (Kozyrev) does not like the agreement, it is his problem," he said. "The deposit belongs to Azerbajian, and it can do whatever it likes with it."
Grigory Karasin, spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, refused to comment.
The contract to develop the Azeri, Chirag and Gyuneshli deposits in the Caspian Sea, which together hold an estimated 511 million tons of oil, was signed in September by Azerbaijan, Amoco, British Petroleum/Statoil, Pennzoil, Ramco, Unocal, McDermott, and Turkish Petroleum.
The Caspian oil project is one of the largest ever in the former Soviet Union, next to the $20 million Tengizchevroil venture in Kazakhstan and the $10 billion Sakhalin-2 oil and gas deal between Russia and a Western consortium.
The Azeri parliament is scheduled to discuss Iran's participation Tuesday together with the initial contract, said Fuad Akhundov, a spokesman for Azeri President Aliyev.
An official with Amoco, one of the partners in the project, said that the consortium had not yet been notified about any changes in the share distribution.
|
|
Tweet |
|
This article has no comments. Be the first to leave a comment |
Discussion
Comments
To post comments you must be registered
Comments via Facebook
Most Read
1.
McFaul Faces Kremlin Scorn Once Again
The Foreign Ministry assailed U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul for comments the ministry said went "far beyond the bounds of diplomatic etiquette."
2.
Berezovsky Investigated for Inciting 'Mass Disorder'
The Investigative Committee has opened an inquiry against self-exiled businessman Boris Berezovsky, who recently pledged a $1.5 million bounty for the arrest of Vladimir Putin.
3.
Radio Journalist Stabbed Outside Apartment Building
A journalist for Mayak radio was clinging to life Tuesday after being stabbed outside his apartment building by an unknown attacker.
4.
Chernobyl Horror Film Called Disrespectful, A Joke
Horror film "Chernobyl Diaries," with its ghostly tale of terror near the infamous, abandoned nuclear plant hits theaters after protests that it sensationalizes a disaster that had tragic human consequences.
5.
Ukraine's Behavior in WTO Has Negotiators Scratching Their Heads
Laos, a small nation dependent on aid and rice farming, wants to join the World Trade Organization. WTO powers including the United States, China and the European Union want it to.
6.
Suspect Detained in Killing of Furniture Magnate
An alleged organizer of a murder of Russian furniture magnate Mikhail Kravchenko has been detained in the Moscow region.
7.
The Nixon Option for Iran
Boldness of the sort displayed by U.S. President Richard Nixon in opening discussions with China is needed now in the negotiations over Iran's nuclear program.
8.
Russky Island Getting Posh on Schedule
After global leaders conclude the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in September, the purpose-built $2.3 billion conference center on a remote island off the coast of Vladivostok will become a university.
9.
$13.4Bln Football Bill Puts Ukraine in the Hole
Ukraine may never recover all of the billions of dollars it has spent to co-host next month's European football championship, and the outlay might complicate its chances of servicing its debt.
10.
Husband Stabs Wife in Bank, Writes 'I Love You' in Blood on Window
The estranged husband of a Sberbank employee in the Primorye region fatally stabbed his wife in the bank Tuesday — scrawling the chilling message “Yulia, I love you” in blood on a window before being arrested.
1.
Tabloid: Superjet Downed by U.S. Industrial Sabotage
A tabloid claims that Russian intelligence agencies are investigating the possibility that the U.S. military may have brought down the Sukhoi Superjet that crashed in Indonesia.
2.
McFaul Faces Kremlin Scorn Once Again
The Foreign Ministry assailed U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul for comments the ministry said went "far beyond the bounds of diplomatic etiquette."
3.
Red Square Flyboy Regrets Air Stunt
When Mathias Rust landed his white Cessna on Red Square on May 28, 1987, he had placed all his hopes for world peace in Mikhail Gorbachev.
4.
Sweden Wins Eurovision; Grannies Take Second
Sweden’s Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan on Sunday before an international TV audience of 100 million, days after angering Azeri authorities by meeting rights activists critical of the host country’s human rights record.
5.
Village Grannies Make It to Eurovision Finals
Russia's group Buranovskiye Babushki has made it into the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, Azerbaijan, bringing the elderly folk singers from a far-off Russian village to the attention of more than 100 million viewers around the world.
6.
Protest and Chaos Seen in Kudrin-Ordered Study
Continued protests in Russia will likely lead to violence or chaotic change, according to a new study ordered by the former finance minister.
7.
Ukraine in Uproar Over Status of Russian Language
Ukraine's ruling party has triggered violent protests with a move to upgrade the official role of Russian, a sensitive issue opponents say will split the country.
8.
150 Detained at Anti-Kremlin Rallies
About 150 people were detained Sunday as scores of people gathered for a series of anti-government demonstrations in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
9.
Tensions Rise as Opposition Leaders are Freed
Sergei Udaltsov and Alexei Navalny emerged from prison Thursday, while a dramatic standoff erupted at a State Duma hearing over a bill that would hike fines for illegal demonstrations.
10.
More Public Figures Accused of Flouting Road Rules
Following the president's order to cut the number of officials entitled to use flashing lights to skirt through traffic, several incidents of alleged abuse involving high-profile figures have come to light.
1.
Hundreds of Arrests Set Grim Backdrop for Victory Day Celebrations
As Moscow gears up to celebrate its victory in World War II, 67 years ago Wednesday, the shadow of political conflict shrouds the capital as hundreds of arrests cloud Victory Day festivities.
2.
Russian Satellite Takes Highest-Ever Resolution Picture of Earth
A stunning 121-megapixel snapshot of the Earth was taken by a Russian weather satellite in what is thought to be the highest resolution picture of the planet ever taken from space.
3.
Bodies, No Survivors Spotted at Superjet Crash
Search and rescue helicopters and volunteers struggling through thick forest and mountainous terrain spotted bodies but no survivors on the Indonesian mountainside where a Sukhoi Superjet 100 crashed by the time darkness forced an end to the search Thursday night.
4.
Tabloid: Superjet Downed by U.S. Industrial Sabotage
A tabloid claims that Russian intelligence agencies are investigating the possibility that the U.S. military may have brought down the Sukhoi Superjet that crashed in Indonesia.
5.
Mysterious Photos Reveal an Unseen WWII
After the end of World War II, Paul Sadler returned home to Chicago with three German books and a photo album from the Dachau concentration camp.
6.
Furniture Magnate Shot Dead in Mercedes in Moscow Region
A 46-year-old furniture magnate was killed with six gunshot wounds to the head and chest early Sunday as he arrived in his Mercedes at his home in the Moscow region.
7.
Vladivostok Bridge Climbers Fined 300 Rubles Each
Three thrill-seekers who climbed two Vladivostok bridges earlier this week and took photos from the top were fined 300 rubles ($10) each for trespassing.
8.
New Cabinet Has Familiar Cast of Characters
President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced the makeup of the new Cabinet answering to Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, with three-fourths of the members having been replaced.
9.
Superjet Missing in Indonesia With 50 on Board
A dark cloud was cast Wednesday on the revival of Russia’s aviation industry when a Sukhoi-built Superjet 100 with 50 people on board disappeared from the radar screens of Indonesian flight controllers.
10.
Why Putin's Days Are Numbered
On Monday, Vladimir Putin will take the presidential oath of office for the third time. After 12 years in power, Putin has increased his control over the country's major institutions, the siloviki and state bureaucracy.
