Iranian Missile Threats Backfire – French Back Out of Energy Investment
by John Little on 10/07/2008This is the cost of destabilization:
Meanwhile, the head of Total, Christophe de Margerie, told the Financial Times the company’s planned development of the huge South Pars gas field in southern Iran would not go ahead.
“Today we would be taking too much political risk to invest in Iran because people will say: ‘Total will do anything for money’,” he said.
Total was the last major Western energy group to have seriously considered investing in the country’s huge gas reserves.
Analysts say the move will be a big blow to the Iranian energy industry.
It means Iran is now unlikely to significantly increase its gas exports until late into the next decade, they add.
Diplomacy clearly isn’t working but there is some hope in the fact that there are still many powerful economic cards to be played:
We’ve been pursuing the diplomatic track for several years, we’ve had four Security Council resolutions, and yet the Iranian regime is still busy installing new centrifuges.
The diplomatic track has to work – the alternatives are appalling. And I believe that our Iran policy can still work.
The Iranian regime may believe that time is on their side, but the state of the Iranian economy says differently. So does the state of Iran’s enrichment program. The regime has claimed for years to be further ahead than it is, and it continues to do so. Enrichment is hard technology to master, and our assessment is that Iran is still some way from doing so.
So we will continue to offer a clear choice: Come into compliance with UN resolutions and be part of the international community, or remain in breach and suffer growing political and economic isolation.
Update 7/15/08:
China View is reporting that the Total deal is on:
A senior official of French energy giant Total said that its company is interested in continuing cooperation with Iran in its oil and gas sectors, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Tuesday.
In a letter to Iranian Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari, Total Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie rejected recent reports on Total’s withdrawal from South Pars gas field, describing them as political propaganda, Mehr news agency quoted an unnamed Total official as saying.
“Total’s stance on Iran is quite clear. We are interested in continuing our activities,” the official said.
Related posts:
Total Confusion: French Energy Giant Still Wants to be Iran’s BFF
Last week the BBC said the deal was dead. Now, China View reports that the company never lost interest: A senior official of French energy giant Total said that its...
Iranian Missile Struck Israeli Ship – Iranian Soldiers May Have Assisted in Attack
First a missile, then a drone, now it looks like were back to missiles again. This time with a twist: A senior IDF officer said the ship was struck by...
Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry A. “Trey” Obering: Iranian Threat Justifies Missile Defense
You can read a transcript of the entire briefing at DefenseLink. It’s interesting stuff. The briefing covers a lot of ground but Iran comes up often: So, if I could...
French Military Active in Somalia
According to a UPI special report the French have shelled and conducted covert strikes inside Somalia. This is not really surprising but if added to the constant stream of updates...
Iran: US Military Bases in the Middle East Are Within Missile Range
A preemptive strike on Iran presents a number of challenges. I suspect that this is not our primary concern. We have far more flexibility, geographically and operationally than Iran could...
No comments yet.