Belarus confirms Belarusneft quits oil project in Iran

Belarus has confirmed the oil company Belarusneft has walked out of an upstream project in Iran. "It is true that Belarus is quitting this project. The official position of the Belarussian side will be made known to the general public later today," a source at the company told Russian Itar-Tass news agency. Earlier, Iranian media reported that Belarusneft will stop the development of the Iranian oil field Jofeir and completely cease its oil activities in Iran. Differences between the leadership of the Belarusian company and the National Iranian Oil Company was named as the main reason. Belorusneft and Iran''s Oil Development Company and Oil Engineering Company signed a contract to develop Jofeir in September 2007. The parties set up a joint venture - Belpars Petroleum Company Limited. The JV is involved in the development of hydrocarbon fields with reserves of about 300 million tonnes. According to the general plan for the field’s development, prepared by the Belarusian and Iranian experts, oil production should be around 1.3 million tonnes a year. The state-run industrial association Belarusneft is the leading oil company in the country, whose interests are represented in Russia, Venezuela, Ukraine and Poland.