ΕιδήσειςΕυρωπαϊκές Ειδήσεις UK Government to Allow Restart of BP UK Gas Field Shut Due to Iran Sanctions dj Πεμ, 24 Οκτωβρίου 2013 - 17:54
The U.K. government said it had taken "the necessary steps" to allow BP PLC (BP) to restart production at its North Sea Rhum natural gas field, which is partly owned by a Tehran-controlled company. BP's Rhum field is 50% owned by IOC UK , an affiliate of Iran 's state oil company. BP closed the field in November 2010 amid tightening U.S. and EU sanctions aimed at stopping Iran 's nuclear program. The move comes as talks have revived between Iran and world powers over its nuclear program after the U.S. and its allies welcomed the election of a new Iranian president this year. The restart of the field, which was producing around 4% of current U.K. gas output, is also a boost for the U.K. government. It comes as political tensions in Britain have ratcheted up over rising domestic energy bills ahead of the high demand winter season. Declining North Sea gas production has led to increased gas imports and higher gas prices. A BP spokesman said it was "an important milestone" towards the restart of Rhum. The U.K. government has told BP that the final authorization to restart the field should come in the next few weeks, the spokesman added. The U.K. government said in a statement late Tuesday it supports restarting production at Rhum to avoid potential environmental damage and to prevent the possible destruction of the value of the field. BP has said that without the inclusion of gas from Rhum, it would be uneconomic to carry on producing at the older adjoining Bruce gas field and they could decide to bring forward the date it would close Bruce. The U.K. government said the Iranian oil company's share of the revenue from the gas sales at Rhum will be placed in a frozen account. The government said it will work closely with BP and BP's contractors on the field to ensure that production can resume. Rhum was producing around 5.4 million cubic meters of gas a day before it was shut down in 2010. That is about 4% of current U.K. output. The joint venture was set up in 1973 when Iran was still ruled by the shah. Gas was discovered in the field in 1977, but because of the technically challenging nature of the reservoir, it only started producing in 2005. EU officials say it is the only Western-Iranian joint venture of its kind in the bloc. U.K. and EU officials have previously won an effective exemption to U.S. sanctions for the $40 billion BP-led Shah Deniz natural-gas project in the Caspian Sea off the coast of Azerbaijan . A unit of the National Iranian Oil Co. holds a 10% stake in that project. Διαβάστε ακόμα Ποια Είναι η Επόμενη Ευρωπαία Επίτροπος Περιβάλλοντος; Τρι, 27 Αυγούστου 2024 - 17:40 Σερβία: Κατάρρευση του Αγροτικού Τομέα λόγω της Λειψυδρίας Τρι, 27 Αυγούστου 2024 - 17:20 Λιώνει Ταχύτατα ο Μεγαλύτερος Παγετώνας της Γαλλίας Τρι, 27 Αυγούστου 2024 - 17:00 ΕΕ: Βοήθεια 101,5 Εκατομμυρίων Ευρώ στην Ελλάδα για τις Πλημμύρες του 2023 Τρι, 27 Αυγούστου 2024 - 16:20 Great Sea Interconnector: Θα Λύσουν τον 'Γόρδιο Δεσμό' Μητσοτάκης και Χριστοδουλίδης; Τρι, 27 Αυγούστου 2024 - 16:00
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