US Unable to Paralyze Iran’s Oil, Gas Sector

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- A string of recent natural gas deals involving Iran has raised eyebrows in Washington, including a substantial supply agreement with Switzerland and two other deals involving Malaysia and Oman.

Following such deals, the US administration sought to put heavy pressures on western states and companies to refrain from cooperating with the Islamic Republic. As a result, Royal Dutch Shell and Spain’s Repsol switched their roles in Iranian natural gas development project; the two oil giants pulled out of an imminent project that was estimated to be worth over $10 billion and picked up a share in long-term deals.



Shell and Repsol executives did not publicly comment on their reasons for pulling out of South Pars. But whether it was due to concerns about the deal’s financial viability or the result of US political pressure, or both, the decision would have been welcomed by the Bush administration.

In addition to having the second-largest oil reserves in the world, Iran also has the second largest quantity of natural gas in the world (behind only Russia), with an estimated 15 percent of global reserves. As Iranian gas reserves are relatively undeveloped, the country has much potential to become a major global supplier.

Axis of Logic