The First US Company To Invest In The Iranian Oil Industry Since 1979

U.S. filtration, separation, and purification solutions provider Pall Corporation will export filtration technology for refining in Iran and invest in oil equipment production there, Iran’s official IRNA agency reported on Wednesday, citing a representative of the Society of Iranian Petroleum Industry Equipment Manufacturers (SIPIEM).

Should the report be verified, this would be the first investment by a U.S. company in Iran’s oil and oil-related industry since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

The report comes after the U.S. Department of Treasury slapped new sanctions on Iran in February, targeting 13 individuals and as many companies, in response to an Iranian ballistic missile test just days earlier.

Under the agreement, Iran would import filtration technology for refining via Pall Corporation, Neda Mousavizadehgan said at a press briefing on the sidelines of the Iran Oil Show exhibition, IRNA reports.

Iran’s oil industry has incurred huge expenses because it was importing non-standard equipment before most of the Western sanctions were lifted in January 2016, according to Mousavizadehgan.

According to the Iranian news agency, a representative from Pall Corporation was also present at the briefing, and said that the U.S. corporation was interested in Iran’s market.

Western oil companies are waiting for an extension of the waiver on U.S. sanctions against Iran before they make final decisions on investing in the country. One of them is France’s oil major Total SA, which is waiting for a waver extension before making the final decision on a US$2.2-billion investment in a gas project in Iran.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Paul D. Ryan, that “Iran remains a leading state sponsor of terror, through many platforms and methods. President Donald J. Trump has directed a National Security Council-led interagency review of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that will evaluate whether suspension of sanctions related to Iran pursuant to the JCPOA is vital to the national security interests of the United States.”

Earlier in April, Boeing said that it had signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Iran Aseman Airlines, expressing the airline’s intent to purchase 30 Boeing 737 MAX airplanes with a list price value of US$3 billion, contingent upon U.S. government approval.

Related: Is The U.S. Oil Patch A Value Trap?

On August 31, 2015, Pall (NYSE: PALL) became a wholly owned subsidiary of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR), who in 2010 made a commitment to “cease doing business with or in Iran.” The company said at the time that their decision to cease operations in Iran was based on their “commitment to being a responsible, worldwide corporate citizen,” along with it being in the best interests of Danaher’s shareholders.

In January 2015, Danaher modified its Iran trading policy to permit shipments of products for medical and humanitarian purposes only.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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