By John Donovan
According to an Iranian news agency report, Iran is seeking to exploit the rivalry between oil giants Shell, Total, Japan’s Inpex Corporation and the Malaysian state-owned Petronas, all vying to develop Iran’s largest oil field, Azadegan oilfield.
Iran is apparently intent on driving the rivals into the formation of a consortium with the “mandatory” inclusion of an Iranian firm.
A move that would certainly provide the most convenient opportunity for Iranian intelligence to embed agents to monitor the activities of the consortium.
And we can be equally certain British and French intelligence agents will be embedded among Shell and Total staff.
Should be interesting.
Shell has retained a good relationship with the supposedly reformed mad mullahs after helping Iran over several years to evade oil sanctions.
Shell was the biggest buyer of Iranian crude in the period of U.S. sanctions against Iran.
On 28 October 2010, Shell CFO Simon Henry came clean after press reports on the subject and admitted that Shell had continued to trade with Iran:
“Simon Henry, Shell’s top financial official, said his company was still taking delivery of Iranian crude oil under the terms of its existing contracts with the Islamic republic.”
The following month, November 2010, Reuters published an article revealing:
“Companies are still finding ways to buy Iranian oil. Royal Dutch Shell and some Italian and Spanish refiners buy Iranian barrels with finance coming from Chinese and Italian banks”
Shell continued to buy oil from the Iranian regime and because of the sensitivity, used subterfuge to disguise shipping movements.