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.