The Latest from Iran (31 July): Politics and Fraud
Tuesday, July 31, 2012 at 17:53See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- From Health Care to Hijab to Identity Crisis
The Latest from Iran (30 July): Declaring The "Resistance Economy"
1855 GMT: Oil Watch. Both an Iranian officialand a representative China National Petroleum Corp. have denied a Sunday report in Iran's media that CNPC is pulling out of a major gas project.
The Iranian official said the Chinese company has had "some difficulties" because "it has not brought its financing"; however, "there is no formal withdrawal from CNPC. It still has staff in Tehran and in Assaluyeh," the southern Iranian port city where the project is being overseen.
A CNPC representative said officials have denied that the company is leaving the project in the South Pars gas field, one of the largest in the world.
In 2009, Tehran signed a $5-billion contract with CNPC to develop the field after the Islamic Republic accused French oil major Total SA of delaying the project. Last year, Iran warned CNPC thatthat it would cancel the contract if delays in developing the field persisted.