Petronas will not pull out of Iran gas project: Badawi
Petronas will not pull out of Iran gas project: Badawi
Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Malaysia's national oil company Petronas will not pull out of a joint-venture project to develop a US$2 billion dollar gas field in Iran despite the Petronas chief's doubts about the deal, news reports said on Friday.
Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Iranian President Mohammad Khatami met in Tehran on Thursday and both leaders agreed that Petronas should not pull out of the project as suggested by the company chief recently, Abdullah was quoted as saying by theStar newspaper. Abdullah is on a three-day visit to Iran.
Petronas chief executive Mohammad Hassan Marican said last week that the company was reviewing its participation in the liquefied natural gas project and may withdraw "if the commercial terms do not meet our financial criteria." He did not elaborate.
"Khatami said he would like to see Petronas be active in the oil and gas industry in Iran," the daily cited Abdullah as saying. "I agree and would like to see a bigger involvement by Petronas in oil and gas exploration in Iran," Abdullah said, according to Star.
Petronas has a 20 percent stake in the Pars LNG production company set up last year to build a liquefaction facility in Iran. France's Total SA has a 30 percent stake, while the National Iranian Gas Export Company holds the remaining 50 percent.
Abdullah said Petronas should resolve any problems it had with its partners as soon as possible.
In Thursday's talks, Abdullah and Khatami also discussed Iran's nuclear program which the European Union and the United States are urging Tehran to abandon, despite Iran's insistence that the program is for peaceful use.
The United States has pushed for Iran to be referred to the Security Council, which has the power to introduce tough economic sanctions. Britain, France and Germany, acting on behalf of the 25-nation European Union, want Tehran to abandon its enrichment activities in exchange for economic aid, technical support and backing for Iran's efforts to join mainstream international organizations.
Abdullah said Malaysia - chairman of the 57-member strong Organization of the Islamic Conference - does not object to Iran's nuclear program, the national news agency Bernama reported.
Abdullah said Khatami assured him that Iran has no intention to produce nuclear weapons.