Russia's state-controlled OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) dismissed Thursday a report that it is looking at possible cooperation with French energy company Total SA (TOT) in Iran.
"We are looking at projects in Iran, but it has nothing to do with Total, with which we discuss totally different projects," Gazprom spokesman Sergey Kupriyanov told Dow Jones Newswires.
Ekho Moskvi radio in Moscow reported Thursday morning that Kupriyanov said the company is in discussions with Total on Iranian projects. The news was later removed from Ekho Moskvi's Web Site, and a representative of the radio station declined to comment on the issue.
Kupriyanov's remarks followed comments from Christophe de Margerie, Total's chief executive, who told the Financial Times Thursday that the company considers it too risky to invest in Iran, making it highly unlikely the group will invest in a liquefied natural gas project linked to South Pars in near future.
"Today we would be taking too much political risk to invest in Iran because people will say: 'Total will do anything for money'," the FT quoted de Margerie as saying.
In February Alexei Miller, Gazprom's chief executive, and Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari agreed the Russian company's participation in the development of two or three blocks of South Pars, and the talks are ongoing.
Gazprom's oil subsidiary OAO Gazprom Neft (SIBN.RS) is in talks with Iranian officials on possible cooperation in developing oil fields in Iran's Northern Azadegan region.