Sunday, December 20, 2009

DTN News: Iranian Troops Leave Disputed Iraq Oil Field After ‘Violation’

DTN News: Iranian Troops Leave Disputed Iraq Oil Field After ‘Violation’ *Source: DTN News / Int'l Media (NSI News Source Info) DUBAI, UAE - December 21, 2009: Iranian troops withdrew from a disputed Iraqi oil well in the East Maysan field after an armed confrontation at the deposit, Iraqi government officials said. In this photo released by the semi-official Iranian Fars News Agency, an Iranian army vehicle opens fire during an air defense war game 200 miles (330 kilometers) southwest of the capital Tehran, Iran. Iran on Sunday began large-scale air defense war games aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from attack, state TV reported, as an air force commander boasted the country could deter any military strike by Israel. The Iranian forces left the al-Fakah well late Dec. 19, Iraq’s deputy minister of oil Abdul Kareem al-Luaibi told reporters in Baghdad yesterday. Iranian control of the well was “a violation of the Iraqi border,” al-Luaibi said. “The issue at the al-Fakah well was resolved diplomatically.” The Iranian flag was been taken down from the well, though Iranian soldiers remained in Iraqi territory, Ali Al-Dabbagh, an Iraqi government spokesman, said in comments on Iraqi television and to reporters in Cairo yesterday. Iranian tanks entered the area on Dec. 17, triggering the dispute with its neighbor that drove up oil prices. Iran has said the well is on its territory. Clashes between the two countries over disputed oil fields near the border have occurred previously, caused by “the lack of a formally demarcated border between the two countries,” Stratfor, an Austin, Texas-based intelligence-consulting group, said in an e-mailed statement Dec. 18. The foreign ministers of the two countries have discussed the “misunderstanding” that led to the al-Fakah standoff, Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported yesterday. Manouchehr Mottaki and Iraq’s Hoshyar Zebari agreed in a phone conversation Dec. 19 to hold a technical committee meeting on border issues, IRNA said, citing the foreign ministry. Iraq this year signed contracts with several foreign companies to develop its oil fields. The Maysan oil fields, also known as Missan, were among the development contracts offered to foreign oil companies in June, though no bids were received. Missan is composed of the Buzurgan, Abu Ghirab and Fauqi fields. Production began at Buzurgan and Abu Ghirab in 1976 before halting in 1980 during Iran-Iraq war. It restarted in 1998. The disputed well has not been in production since the war.

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