China to swoop on Iran oil field if Tokyo pulls support

On the brink of tapping into one of the world’s largest known oil reserves, Japanese companies are fretting over the possibility of further rivalry with China.

Mining rights to Iran’s vast Azadegan Oilfield, secured in February 2004, are the fruit of three years of hard negotiations.

http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp?Da=8/20/2005&Cat=9&Num=3