The announcement was odd because no American sanctions have ever been imposed on any foreign firm in the 14-year history of the sanctions law.
However, LUKoil is expanding rapidly in the United States and does not want to endanger its operations there. Clearly, it judges the American market to be far more important as it said it was posting a loss of $63 million in withdrawing from its project in Iran.
In the United States, LUKoil currently operates 2,000 service stations in 13 states as well as having heating oil supply operations.
LUKoil is just the latest in a long string of firms that have announced withdrawals from Iran. The withdrawals have accelerated since the start of the year. Many of the firms that have pulled out recently have been selling gasoline to Iran and noted new sanctions legislation that recently passed in the U.S. Senate and House. That legislation would penalize foreign firms selling gasoline to Iran. The Senate and House bills are different and those differences must still be ironed out, so there is no new sanctions law yet.
LUKoil, however, doesn’t sell Iran gasoline. In 2003, it signed an exploration contract to explore the onshore Anaran block with Norway’s Statoil. Statoil owns 75 percent and LUKoil 25 percent.
Oil was discovered at four sites in Anaran. But in 2008, Statoil announced that work in the block had been “suspended.” It did not say who suspended the work or why.
In announcing its withdrawal from Anaran, LUKoil cited the 1996 Iran-Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA), which authorized sanctions on non-American firms that invest more $20 million in Iran’s oil and gas industry over any 12-month period.
LUKoil indicated the Anaran project had reached the stage where a major investment exceeding $20 million would be required to go further.
A LUKoil spokesperson said, “Since LUKoil does business in the United States, it has decided to withdraw from the [Anaran] project. She said the firm has retained its development rights and could return to Iran if sanctions are lifted.
Statoil has said nothing since the LUKoil announcement Friday. Statoil also holds an exploration license for the Khorramabad block, but previously announced it is doing nothing there. It held the contract for developing Phases 6, 7 and 8 of the South Pars gasfield, but said in January that its development work was completed last year and it was now only assisting Iran with the transition to full Iranian control and operation.
The Moscow daily Nezavi-simaya Gazeta reported Saturday that Gazpromneft, another Russia oil firm, plans to develop the Azar oilfield found inside the Anaran block, Gazpromneft doesn’t have any major interests in the United States and doesn’t have to worry about sanctions. It is possible that Lukoil withdrew to open the work to Gazprom-neft.