Analysis: Russia, others eye Iran ties

While it has been a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy since the 1979 Iranian Islamic revolution to contain and isolate Iran, Washington’s increasingly factious relations with Moscow and record-high oil prices are beginning to ripple through the relations of the five Caspian nations, producing several developments that all point to the increasing failure of Washington’s containment policy against Tehran.

In perhaps the most striking recent development, on Feb. 20 Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller held talks in Tehran with Iranian Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari. While little was released about the meeting, the pair agreed on increased Russian involvement in developing Iran’s massive South Pars and North Kish offshore gas fields in the Persian Gulf as well as laying oil and natural gas pipelines. Further agreement was apparently reached on mutual cooperation in the oil and gas sectors in the Caspian Sea. Gazprom also agreed to build a gas reservoir in Iran as well as constructing a refinery in Armenia. Moving swiftly ahead, the two sides agreed to hold expert-level meetings and sign agreements within the next two months

In yet another striking piece of news that will have American producers weeping into their martinis, the director of the Iran Contemporary Studies Center in Russia, Rajab Safarov, said that in the coming months, Iran wants to privatize its oil companies, a development, which if it occurs, will see American companies effectively locked out from the bidding by Washington’s sanctions regime against Iran. Rubbing salt in the wound, Safarov added that some European middlemen are considering forming conglomerate companies with the Iranian ones to prepare the ground for participating in the Iranian Oil Exchange market scheduled to open later this month, a not inconsiderable effort, seeing as Iran sells $70 billion worth of crude annually.

The final disconcerting piece of news for Washington is that Gazprom is considering repricing its crude and gas production in rubles rather than dollars. Last November Gazprom Deputy Chief Executive Officer Alexander Medvedev said in New York, “We are seriously thinking about selling our resources in rubles.”

Energy Daily