U.S. envoy: Shah Deniz oil field operations could’ve been sanctioned

PanARMENIAN.Net - Sanctions could have been imposed on the operation of Shah Deniz field, the U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan said, according to APA.

At the conference titled Maritime and Energy Law in Azerbaijan: International and National Perspectives, Richard Morningstar spoke about the compromise reached during the operation of Shah Deniz field.

“Sanctions could have been imposed on Shah Deniz field in the Caspian Sea, because Iran has a 10% share in Shah Deniz oil field and the companies cooperating with Iran in the sectors of oil and gas might expect to be sanctioned by the U.S. But what did the U.S. Congress say? The Congress though it suitable to make a compromise. Otherwise, the operation of Shah Deniz could have been frozen for 20 years. In this case, international companies wouldn’t be able to take a step forward in the operation of this field. But let’s view this issue from another aspect. What if the gas would have gone to only Iran or Russia?”

Richard Morningstar also touched on the importance of politics in the relations and process management.

“Sometimes politics has very serious influence on the legislation. Therefore, we have to clarify any issue that may cause dispute,” he said.