Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BUCHAREST1309
2006-08-22 16:58:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Bucharest
Cable title:
IRAN "CONFISCATES" ROMANIAN OIL RIG IN APPARENT
how-toVZCZCXRO7720 OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR DE RUEHBM #1309 2341658 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 221658Z AUG 06 FM AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5000 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI PRIORITY 0006 RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L BUCHAREST 001309
SIPDIS
NOFORN
SIPDIS
STATE PASS EUR/NCE - DAVID KOSTELANCIK
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/22/2016
TAGS: PREL ECON ENRG EPET PGOV IR RO
SUBJECT: IRAN "CONFISCATES" ROMANIAN OIL RIG IN APPARENT
COMMERCIAL DISPUTE
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Mark Taplin for reasons 1.5(b) and (d)
.
C O N F I D E N T I A L BUCHAREST 001309
SIPDIS
NOFORN
SIPDIS
STATE PASS EUR/NCE - DAVID KOSTELANCIK
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/22/2016
TAGS: PREL ECON ENRG EPET PGOV IR RO
SUBJECT: IRAN "CONFISCATES" ROMANIAN OIL RIG IN APPARENT
COMMERCIAL DISPUTE
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Mark Taplin for reasons 1.5(b) and (d)
.
1. (SBU) Romanian press reported on August 22 that an Iranian
naval vessel reportedly fired upon and then seized the
Orizont, a Romanian-owned oilrig in Iranian waters in the
Salman field near the Kish islands. The rig, owned by the
Romanian firm Grup Servicii Petroliere (Oil Services Group),
has a crew of 26 Romanians. (NOTE: Romanian television
reports that the crew consists of 20 Romanian and seven
Indian nationals.) The matter appears to relate to a
commercial dispute between the Grup Servicii Petroliere
(GSP),and its Persian Gulf partners, Dubai-based Oriental
Oil Company and state-owned Petroiran Oil Company.
2. (SBU) Subsequent reports painted a less alarming picture.
Presidential Advisor Adriana Saftoiu was quoted on Realitatea
TV as saying that the vessel was seized by the Iranian Coast
Guard based on a court order issued on August 17. Other
press reports quoted Romania's Charge d'Affaires in Tehran,
Mircea Has, as saying that the Romanian workers on the rig
were unharmed, but were being held under arms on the rig by
the Iranian military. MFA officials told Poloff that the
matter is being handled by Charge Has for the moment.
Romanian Defense Minister Teodor Atanasiu deferred to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that there was no need
to convene a meeting of the Supreme Defense Council (CSAT),
as called for by opposition leader Mircea Geoana, before all
the facts were in.
3. (C) In an subsequent telcon on August 22 with Charge,
National Security Advisor Sergiu Medar said the incident was
"nothing much more than a commercial dispute between two
companies." Iranian authorities, he said, had only
intervened to deliver a legal order confiscating the
platform. "It was not a hostile act," he stressed. He
characterized press reports as being "exaggerated." He
confirmed that the crew had been freed, and reported that the
crewmembers had been well-treated. To underscore that the
GOR was not treating the matter as an emergency, MFA contacts
told PolOff that an interagency meeting had been scheduled
for normal working hours on August 23.
4. (SBU) While facts remain unclear, it appears that Iranian
officials took action against the rig to prevent GSP from
removing it to international waters, as it had recently done
with a second rig. State-owned Petroiran filed a criminal
case in a Tehran court on August 14, charging GSP with
"hijacking" another oilrig, the Fortuna. GSP President
Gabriel Comanescu stated that the rig had been removed for
maintenance with the permission of Iranian authorities. GSP
is controlled by controversial Romanian businessman Sorin
Ovidiu Vantu, who also owns Realitatea TV. The company took
over operation of the rigs from OMV-owned Petrom in 2005.
Taplin
SIPDIS
NOFORN
SIPDIS
STATE PASS EUR/NCE - DAVID KOSTELANCIK
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/22/2016
TAGS: PREL ECON ENRG EPET PGOV IR RO
SUBJECT: IRAN "CONFISCATES" ROMANIAN OIL RIG IN APPARENT
COMMERCIAL DISPUTE
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Mark Taplin for reasons 1.5(b) and (d)
.
1. (SBU) Romanian press reported on August 22 that an Iranian
naval vessel reportedly fired upon and then seized the
Orizont, a Romanian-owned oilrig in Iranian waters in the
Salman field near the Kish islands. The rig, owned by the
Romanian firm Grup Servicii Petroliere (Oil Services Group),
has a crew of 26 Romanians. (NOTE: Romanian television
reports that the crew consists of 20 Romanian and seven
Indian nationals.) The matter appears to relate to a
commercial dispute between the Grup Servicii Petroliere
(GSP),and its Persian Gulf partners, Dubai-based Oriental
Oil Company and state-owned Petroiran Oil Company.
2. (SBU) Subsequent reports painted a less alarming picture.
Presidential Advisor Adriana Saftoiu was quoted on Realitatea
TV as saying that the vessel was seized by the Iranian Coast
Guard based on a court order issued on August 17. Other
press reports quoted Romania's Charge d'Affaires in Tehran,
Mircea Has, as saying that the Romanian workers on the rig
were unharmed, but were being held under arms on the rig by
the Iranian military. MFA officials told Poloff that the
matter is being handled by Charge Has for the moment.
Romanian Defense Minister Teodor Atanasiu deferred to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stating that there was no need
to convene a meeting of the Supreme Defense Council (CSAT),
as called for by opposition leader Mircea Geoana, before all
the facts were in.
3. (C) In an subsequent telcon on August 22 with Charge,
National Security Advisor Sergiu Medar said the incident was
"nothing much more than a commercial dispute between two
companies." Iranian authorities, he said, had only
intervened to deliver a legal order confiscating the
platform. "It was not a hostile act," he stressed. He
characterized press reports as being "exaggerated." He
confirmed that the crew had been freed, and reported that the
crewmembers had been well-treated. To underscore that the
GOR was not treating the matter as an emergency, MFA contacts
told PolOff that an interagency meeting had been scheduled
for normal working hours on August 23.
4. (SBU) While facts remain unclear, it appears that Iranian
officials took action against the rig to prevent GSP from
removing it to international waters, as it had recently done
with a second rig. State-owned Petroiran filed a criminal
case in a Tehran court on August 14, charging GSP with
"hijacking" another oilrig, the Fortuna. GSP President
Gabriel Comanescu stated that the rig had been removed for
maintenance with the permission of Iranian authorities. GSP
is controlled by controversial Romanian businessman Sorin
Ovidiu Vantu, who also owns Realitatea TV. The company took
over operation of the rigs from OMV-owned Petrom in 2005.
Taplin