Austria's OMV Says Not Halting Energy Projects in Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Austrian oil and gas group OMV said it had not halted its planned Iranian energy projects despite the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
The group was monitoring political developments in the United States and the European Union very closely, said upstream chief Johann Pleininger at the annual shareholders’ meeting in Vienna.
“The project has not come to a standstill, it is continuing,” Pleininger said, according to Reuters.
“No investments have been made yet,” he added.
OMV signed a memorandum of understanding in May 2016 for projects in the Zagros area of western Iran and the Fars field in the south. In June 2017, OMV and Russia’s Gazprom Neft announced a memorandum of understanding to work in Iran’s oil sector.
US President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the deal between Tehran and six major powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on May 8. Trump ordered that sanctions against Iran be reimposed.
Iran and the other parties to the JCPOA, namely Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, have launched talks to keep the deal in a way that Tehran’s benefits are secured.
