European energy companies sold out national interest in favor of private economic gain on Saturday, as French company Total and Austrian company OMV met in Tehran for a high-profile Iranian oil and gas conference.
The Iranian media was quick to point out that the conference proved that U.S., European, Israeli and UN pressure was ineffective in preventing the world from investing in Iran’s vast oil and gas resources.
The sell out is not the first of its kind, Infolive.tv reported that Switzerland already caved into the Iranian temptation in March, signing a deal with the Islamic Republic to the tune of a $28 billion, 25-year contract - paving the way for the supply of Iranian natural gas to Europe.
The United States slammed the news as untimely and inappropriate in light of Iran’s actions in the international political arena.
According to U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack “Now is not the time to be discussing with Iran investments in its oil and gas industry given its status in the international community regarding its behaviors, which are clearly outside the norm and have been judged by the (United Nations) Security Council to be outside acceptable international behavior.”
Yet OMV spokesman, Thomas Huemer, rebuked the American charges saying that the company was not breaking any EU or U.N. laws by attending the conference. “For us, everything is in line with international regulations. We see no problems in attending this conference,” he said.
Due to the scarce oil and gas resources on the European continent, Europe must rely on surrounding countries and regions with high natural gas potential. Iran, on the other hand, has the world's second largest natural gas reserves and is the second largest oil exporter among the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC. 10/05/08
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