Officials said the state-owned Belarusneft has announced its withdrawal
from a project to develop Iran's Jufeir crude oil field. They said Belarus,
sanctioned in March by the United States, terminated all activities in
June over technical and other differences, and that Jufeir was canceled
on Aug. 16.
"Belarusneft has brought to an end to all its oil activities in Iran
since [late June], and it is predicted that the European company's contract
on the development of phase one of the Jufeir oil field will be canceled on
[Aug. 16]," an official from Iran's National Oil Co. told the Mehr news
agency.
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Jufeir marked a $500 million buy-back contract signed in 2007 and meant
to develop an oil field near the southwestern border with Iraq.
The official
said Iran and Belarusneft disagreed over how to develop Jufeir as well as
compensation for the European firm.
Belarusnaft was also said to have failed
to honor the project schedule.