A North Sea oil field which was shut down due to its links with Iran is to resume production.
BP said yesterday that the UK Government has lifted its ban on the huge Rhum gas field, which it co-owns with the Iranian Oil Company.
The site was closed in 2010 after the EU imposed sanctions on Iranian firms amid allegations it was trying to develop nuclear weapons. But last night the Department for Energy and Climate Change gave the green light for work to resume.
A government spokes-man said it was allowing the restart to prevent permanent damage to the high-pressure, high-temperature field, which was not designed to remain shut permanently.
“The government supports restarting production at Rhum, which is necessary to avoid potential environmental damage and to prevent the possible destruction of the value of the field,” he said.
The Rhum gas field was contributing about 4% percent to UK gas production in October 2010 before its shutdown.
It started pumping gas in December 2005 and cost £350million to build.
BP said it was too early to say when production at the field could restart.
“We look forward to receiving final authorisation over the next few weeks, which will enable us to start work towards restarting the field,” a spokesman said.
BP and the Iranian Oil Company UK are 50/50 partners in the field, 240 miles north-east of Aberdeen. EU sanctions against Iranian companies, including the IOC, are still in place, and the UK government said the IOC’s revenue from gas sales at Rhum will be placed into a frozen account.
Had production from Rhum been suspended for good, it would mean that 80million barrels of oil equivalent would be lost in the years ahead plus hundreds of millions of pounds in tax revenue to the Treasury. Rhum has output of about 9,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
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