French Companies Call On Iran To Cooperate In Joint Oil Projects

Tehran, Jan 19, IRNA – Representative of the French business law firm (Fidal) in Iran and Azerbaijan Majid Javedani said Saturday that the Total and GDF Suez companies of France have suggested Iran to cooperate with them in Lebanon’s oil and gas projects. Speaking in a press conference here, Javedani said the two French companies have voiced readiness to work with their Iranian counterparts "outside the Iranian soil" including Lebanon. The GDF Suez S.A. is a French multinational electric utility company, headquartered in Paris which operates in the fields of electricity generation and distribution, natural gas and renewable energy. “Presently, a team from Total is positioned in Lebanon trying to promote the company's activities in that country’s oil and gas fields through various negotiations with the Lebanese government," Javedani said. He added that the Chinese, American and Russian rivals of Total were also ready to invest in the Lebanese oil and gas projects. According to Lebanon’s energy council, the country possessed some estimated 700 billion cubic-meter of gas resources while its offshore oil production rate was estimated at 90,000 bpd for about 20 years, Javedani added. He stressed that Iran’s cooperation with the western and Lebanese companies would bring political advantages to the country too./end