UANI

"This year, 166 Chinese companies are present at the fair compared to 100 companies last year,' a senior oil ministry official said. 'The number of foreign companies are up 35 percent,' to 496 out of the total 1,550, he said. He said that despite UN sanctions and bilateral punitive measures by the United States and the European Union against Iran, 'Germany is present with 64 companies, Italy with 36, Britain with 37, Spain with 14, France with 15 and South Korea with 33 companies.' Major Western energy groups such as Total of France, Norwegian Statoil and OMV of Austria, who have withdrawn from Iran, made a 'symbolic' appearance at the fair." (AFP, "Chinese Firms Dominate Iran Oil Exhibition," 4/15/11)

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On September 30th, Statoil made a "pledge to stop investing in Iran's energy sector" as a result of pressure from American sanctions (AP, "US hits Iranian energy firm with sanctions," 9/30/2010). However, Statoil continues to provide technical assistance on Iran's South Pars gas field, saying that such assistance will continue for "three years" (Reuters, "Oil majors tell US still have some Iran dealings," 9/30/2010). 

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"Statoil maintains an office in Iran. A spokesperson for the company said it continues to provide assistance to the National Iranian Oil Company on a gas drilling platform in the Persian Gulf. But, the spokesperson said, Statoil stopped all new exploration and drilling in Iran as of 2007, adding that the company has no plans to move forward on a license it has to drill in another area of the Persian Gulf."

From 2000-2009, the company was the recipient of 1.4 million acres of US gas/oil fields.  Their investments in Iran are currently active but with no further plans for new investments.  (The New York Times, "Profiting from Iran, and the US," 3/6/2010)

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"StatoilHydro (STL.OL) said on Tuesday it is considering pulling the families of its foreign workers out of Iran due to security concerns after Friday's presidential elections. StatoilHydro, which is part of the South Pars gas project, has 120 workers in Iran. About half are foreigners." (Reuters, "Statoil says may pull ex-pats' families from Iran," 6/16/09)

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"StatoilHydro is offshore development operator for phases 6, 7 & 8 of the South Pars gas and condensate field in the Iranian sector of the Persian Gulf. We have also engaged in onshore exploration and drilling activities. Exploration drilling on the Anaran field resulted in promising commercial discoveries in recent years. Work on this project is currently suspended. On Khorram-Abad, we have a commitment to conduct a seismic survey and to drill exploration wells." (Company Website, 7/13/09)

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"The enormous New York State Common Retirement Fund plans to divest $86.2 million in investments from nine companies doing business in Sudan and Iran...The decision comes after two years of reviewing these companies, the potential risk of the investments and, in some cases, humanitarian efforts in these countries. 'We don't expect our investments to benefit regimes that support genocide and terrorism,' said DiNapoli. The fund plans to divest out of $86 million in Gazprom (OGZPY), Inpex (1605.TO), Lukoil (LUKOY), Oil And Natural Gas Corp (500312.BY), OMV (OMVKY), Petroleo Brasilia (PBR), Statoil (STO), Wartsila OYJ and Sinopec Corp. DiNapoli said the firms were chosen because "they failed to respond or we were not satisfied with their responses" when asked to provide information to the fund on the investments and their risks." (Wall Street Journal, "NY Comptroller To Divest $86.2M In State Pension Fund Investments," 6/30/09)

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"U.S. outreach to foreign banks and to oil companies considering investing in Iran's energy sector has reportedly convinced more than 80 banks and several major potential oil-field investors to cease all or some of their business with Iran. Among them: Germany's two largest banks (Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank), London-based HSBC, Credit Suisse, Norwegian energy company StatoilHydro, and Royal Dutch Shell." (The Wall Street Journal, "How To Put The Squeeze On Iran," 11/13/08)

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"The U.S. State Department will review Norwegian oil and gas giant Statoil Hydros role in helping to develop Iranian natural gas to see if it violates a U.S. sanctions law against Tehran, a senior U.S. official told Congress on Wednesday. (Reuters, "US to review if Statoil violates Iran sanctions law," 7/9/08)

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"Three phases of the South Pars development handled by StatoilHydro ASA are now scheduled to reach full production mid-2009, two years behind schedule." (The Wall Street Journal, "Oil Majors Say US Restrictions Delay Iran Projects," 6/12/08)

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Listed by U.S. Government as doing business in Iran. (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, List of Companies Doing Business With State Sponsors Of Terror, Removed from the internet in July of 2007) "GIANTS WITH A FOOT IN TEHRAN: Total, Shell, Statoil, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, MTN, UPS, Linde, Technip, Nokia, Ericsson, Peugeot, Renault, OMV, Societe Generale, ENI, Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Siemens, LG, Samsung, Bosch, Valeo, Nestle, Unilever, BAT, Japan Tobacco." (The London Times, "American pressure threatens UK firms," 5/27/06)