Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug.28 / Trend /
The National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC) is likely to resolve the dispute with the company Crescent Petroleum, in compliance with the law, the NIGEC said.
The NIGEC was given the task of resolving the differences between Crescent Petroleum and The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).
The company's policy regarding the dispute with Crescent Petroleum does not differ from policies in other cases examined by the Oil Ministry, the same source said.
The companies and their employees, dealing with the Oil Ministry and other governmental agencies, as well as with the issue with Crescent Petroleum and the contract, should refrain from making any statements until the final verdict is passed, the media stated.
If it is necessary to disclose the report, the relevant statements will be made by the manager of the NIEGC. Therefore, any other statements made by persons associated with the Oil Ministry should not be regarded as the opinion or a statement of the NIGEC, the statement said.
The UAE-based Crescent National Gas Corp. signed a deal with the National Iranian Oil Company in 2002 to import natural gas from Iran's Salman field through a pipeline jointly built by Iran and Crescent. According to the agreement, Iran was supposed to export 500 million cubic feet of gas daily to the UAE for 25 years, starting in 2005. The volume of gas exported would be 500 million cubic meters per day at the initial stage and gradually reach 800 million cubic meters.
However, in 2005 the Accounting Chamber of Iranian Parliament stated that there had been serious failings and limitations in the contract-signing process. Director of Crescent's Iran office, Ziya Hamid Jafar, reduced the cost of the contract from its real price with bribes given to certain directors in the oil company, the Chamber of Iranian Parliament stated. According to the Chamber, the price of exported gas, as decided in the contract, would not change for an export period of 7 years and that this is creating problems implementing the treaty. Meanwhile, for 25 years Iran will profit from 16 to 20 percent of the gas exported to the UAE, which amounts to 1/5 of the profits for gas exported to Turkey by Iran.