Romanian Oil Rig Comes Under Iranian Fire

Washington Post ^ | 8/22/06

[John999]

BUCHAREST, Romania -- A Romanian oil rig off the coast of Iran came under fire Tuesday from an Iranian military warship and was later occupied by Iranian troops, a company spokesman said.

The Iranians first fired into the air and then fired at the Orizont rig, said GSP spokesman Radu Petrescu. Half an hour later, troops from the ship boarded and occupied the rig and the company lost contact with the 26 crew members shortly afterward....

[balk]

That appears to be even worse - right off the coast of UAE.

[balk]

[Ol' Sox]

I came across this article from last week. Looks like the Romanians absconded with a different oil rig, the "Fortuna", and the Iranians are holding this one, the "Orizont", hostage.

Iran calls on UAE to help return "Persian Gulf hijacked drilling rig"
Aug 15, 2006
AFP

The state-owned Petroiran oil company on Tuesday urged the United Arab Emirates to help return an offshore drilling rig it says was "hijacked from Iranian waters". "We call on the UAE officials to prevent the 'Fortuna' from entering the UAE in order to respect recognized international commercial ties and to prepare the ground for returning the oil rig to Iran," Petroiran managing director Mostafa Khoee said.

"Petroiran will pursue the matter by taking legal measures," he added.

Khoee said the Fortuna, owned by Romania's Grup Servicii Petroliere, had been rented by Iran's Oriental Oil Kish for two years.

But the two companies are involved in a legal dispute for return of the rig, which Iran claims is still under rental contract.

"A vessel on its way to Al-Fujayrah (UAE) illegally entered waters of Iran's Hangam gas field and towed the oil rig out of Iranian waters," Khoee said.

Hangam field is in the Strait of Hormoz, 20 kilometers south of Qeshm island in the Persian Gulf. The field, shared jointly with Oman, is the subject of studies to draw up a master plan for its development.

Exploitation of the Hangam gas field has been delayed because the necessary drilling equipment to sink appraisal wells was not procured on time.

Just four foreign-owned rigs are currently active in Iranian oil projects.

[DogBarkTree]

....and still we do nothing. The more we do nothing the bolder they get. Maybe when a suitcase nuke goes off in DC the US will wake up and fight this war with both hands.

[OldFriend]

So you expect people like Imadamnutjob follows normal business practices?????????????????

Like Putin and Chavez?

[ExSoldier]

Act of war?

Too small an event unless a lot of BIGGER events soon follow (today). A SEAL team could remove this threat under cover of darkness and eliminate every sign of the enemy. If the crew of the rig is there they could be re-installed to control and deny the whole thing. Sorta like the dream sequence on DALLAS when Bobby's death was explained....Anybody remember what I'm referring to? Extra points!

[pointsal]

Wonder who shorted the oil futures market?

[Rain-maker]

Kish Island Airfield
 

 

The Orizont rig has been moored near the Kish island in the Persian Gulf since October 2005.

[Carry_Okie]

WTF?

Ahmadinijad is enhancing his cash flow.

I stocked up all my fuel storage capacity yesterday.

[tobyhill]

Everyone can see that this is nothing more than an attempt by Iran to drive up world oil prices and put them in what they perceive as a better position for negotiations with the UN.

[bert]

I would think that if true, Iran has blatantly disregarded the sovergnty of the UAE and dared them to do any thing about it.

[Fishtalk]

Imadamnutjob

The absolute best. Coffee all over the place. I must use this.

[miele man]

"Sounds like a job for the SEALS"

This was, in fact, part of a plot line in one of Dick Marcinko's "Rogue Warrior" series of books. Marcinko was the first Commanding Officer of Seal Team Two and Six if I correctly recall.

[cookcounty]

"My experience says that oil rigs are used as launching platforms for surveillance.

Maybe a good platform from which a certain ticked off Middle Eastern country could launch an attack in Kharg Island, shutting down 90% of Iranian oil export and putting President Ah-be-duh-mahdi-jihad on notice.

[OldFriend]

Wish I could take credit but another freeper used it and I thought it was beyond perfect! LOLOL......

[bobsunshine]

Important background link by Sundog (post 20) Thanks. (emphasis added):

Published: 08/17/2006 12:00 AM (UAE)
Romanian firm hotly disputes Petroiran's claim

Abu Dhabi: A Romanian company, accused by an Iran-owned oil company of hijacking an oil rig on Monday, said it was perfectly within its rights to move the rig to Sharjah.

The company said it had filed a criminal case against Petroiran Oil Company.

"We had permission from Iranian authorities to move the rig out because we completed our contract in April. It is wrong on the part of Petroiran to accuse us of hijacking the rig," Gabriel Comanescu, president of Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP) told Gulf News.

"The rig had some technical problems and it needed 'annual class' certification by Germanishcer Lloyd," he said. "It has been brought to the anchorage area, three miles off Sharjah."

Comanescu said the company also secured clearances to enter the UAE.

"We have no problems with the UAE because we are moving here legally," he said. "Petroiran Oil Company has no legal right to urge any one for the return of the Fortuna rig."

State-owned Petroiran on Tuesday urged the UAE to help return the offshore drilling rig and prevent it from entering the UAE, according to AFP. Petroiran did not respond to queries posed by Gulf News.

Comanescu said his company filed the case against Petroiran in a government court in Tehran.

"Our company, GSP, officially signed a contract with Oriental Oil Company Dubai, but the Fortuna rig was rented by Oriental Oil Kish. We have a letter from the Dubai Chamber that Oriental Oil Company Dubai has not been registered in Dubai. This means the contract is illegal, so we have filed a case."

Comanescu also claimed Petroiran was still illegally in possession of yet another GSP rig, Orizont, which has 25 Romanian and 10 Indian crew on board. "As per the Kish island court order, we have permission to take Orizont but Petroiran is not allowing us."

Analysts said this looked like a rare case and much depends on the conditions of the charter party.

"It is the first time we are hearing of a rig-related case. Provided the conditions of the charter party were complied with, the rig owner is entitled to take it away on expiry of the contract and the Iranians would have little comeback on this," said Frank Kennedy, a maritime consultant in Dubai.

"But if the charter conditions were not complied with, then there will be repercussions," Kennedy said. "We don't know the clauses of the contract and cannot comment further."

Another Dubai analyst said due to political risks many companies were unwilling to extend contracts with Iranian companies.

"I think there are few international rigs operational in Iran despite the many tenders coming out," the analyst said.

[conservative blonde]

When has the world ever needed France?

[NautiNurse]

The rig wouldn't happen to be named the Arch Duke Ferdinand, would it?

Priceless!

[monday]

"Read the article in post 20.......NOTHING TO DO WITH TERROR"

lol... right! Tell that to the Romanian crew on the oil rig who got shot at. "Don't be frightened. The thuggish Iranian government who is shooting at you aren't terrorists."

Hardly anyone wants to do business in Iran because, as this Romanian company is discovering, the Iranians might not ever let you leave.

This isn't a business dispute. It's kidnapping and piracy by the Iranian government.

[monday]

"I guess the rig was trying to escape so they fired on it. Hey, does anyone know the top speed of an oil rig?"

This one was being moved. They don't move very fast.