DANISH REPLY TO DEMARCHE ON DISCOURAGING NEW DEALS

UNCLAS COPENHAGEN 000061

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

FOR EEB/ESC/TFS - SONATA COULTER AND NEA/IR - SARAH GROEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ENRG EPET ETTC PREL DA IR
SUBJECT: DANISH REPLY TO DEMARCHE ON DISCOURAGING NEW DEALS
IN IRAN'S ENERGY SECTOR

REF: A. 08 STATE 125575

B. 08 COPENHAGEN 650

C. 30 JAN 09 COULTER E-MAIL


1. (SBU) This is an action request. Please see paragraph 4.


2. (SBU) The Charge was convoked on February 2 by MFA
Political Director Carsten Damsgaard to follow up on our
demarche regarding the present or planned pursuits of a
Danish company, Haldor Topsoe, to sell catalytic converters
to Iran for use in oil refineries (Refs A and B). Damsgaard
stressed that Denmark continues to support a tough stance on
Iran's nuclear program and fully supports ongoing P-5 efforts
to tighten economic sanctions, adding that Denmark will seek
to build EU consensus on a firm approach toward Iran if P-5
efforts do not prosper. He said that, in response to our
demarche, he had met last week with the senior management of
Haldor Topsoe to apprise them of the Danish government's
stance on Iran and to share the concerns raised in our
demarche. Damsgaard stated that Haldor Topsoe officials are
weighing the consequences of doing business with Iran but
made no commitments.


3. (SBU) Damsgaard noted that the MFA has learned that three
U.S.-based companies are also engaged in business in Iran in
a similar field as Haldor Topsoe. He stated that, just as
the Danish government is willing to speak to its companies
about its position on Iran and on the risks of doing business
with Iran, Denmark would appreciate similar outreach efforts
by the USG with American firms that may be doing business in
the Iranian energy sector. In particular, he cited three
specific companies: UOP (a division of Honeywell); Albemarle,
a company he claimed to be a direct competitor of Haldor
Topsoe in selling catalytic converters; and KBR. We note
that these three companies, like Haldor Topsoe, were listed
in the French "Coordinated National Measures" framework paper
that we understand may have helped drive the original
demarche (Ref C). Although Damsgaard did not reveal the
source of his information about the three companies, we
suspect it came from his meeting with Haldor Topsoe
executives.


4. (SBU) Action request: Post would appreciate Department
guidance on a response to Denmark's request that the USG
weigh in with the three American companies in the same manner
that the MFA weighed in with Haldor Topsoe.
MCCULLEY