Shell announced this month that it has stopped selling gasoline to Iran. Iran, though rich in petroleum reserves, imports gasoline because its aging refineries cannot produce enough gasoline. Shell said it stopped supplying Iran with gasoline last year.
“We have stopped all sales of gasoline to Iran,” said David Williams, a Shell spokesman at corporate headquarters in The Hague.
But Shell has other business interests in Iran that will continue. Royal Dutch Shell signed an $800 million deal in 1999 to develop two huge oil fields to produce 190,000 barrels a day. The project was completed in 2005, but Shell continues to receive payments for its prior work. Shell may also start an Iranian natural gas development project if a feasibility study determines it to be a profitable project.
Ingersoll-Rand P.L.C., a multinational air compressor and cooling system company, said last week it would no longer allow its subsidiaries to sell parts or products to Iran.
Paul Dickard, a spokesman for Ingersoll-Rand, said in an interview that the company has been following the Iran case for some time.
“When we saw a number of companies make this decision, our withdrawal became imminent. Unless there is a regime change, we are completely out of Iran.”
Companies such as Vitol, Trafigura, and Glencore have recently announced they had stopped gasoline sales to Iran.
