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Although a Japanese consortium - made up of Tomen Corp, Japanese Exploration Petroleum Co and Inpex Corp - had first dibs to develop the fields back in late 2000, the Japanese government's fears of Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program - coupled with intense pressure from the Bush Administration - meant that Japan has been slow off the mark. This delay could now cost them dearly.
Should OVL take on Iran's offer, it will do so with a western oil major believed to be either Norway's Statoil or France's Total. Azadegan is believed to be Iran's biggest oil field with potential reserves of around 26 billion barrels of crude oil.
