LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Serica Energy said onMonday that the U.S. Treasury had given temporary approval forcertain U.S. businesses to work on a British North Sea oil andgas field owned in part by Iran, which is targeted by U.S.sanctions.
London-based BP last year agreed to sell to North Seaoil producer Serica three fields including the Rhum field ofwhich a subsidiary of Iran’s national oil company owns half.
"Serica Energy plc announces that it has receivednotification from BP that the U.S. Office of Foreign AssetsControl (“OFAC”) has issued a new licence relating to the RhumField," it said in a statement.
"The licence authorises the provision of essential goods,services and support by certain U.S. persons and businesses tothe Rhum field until 4 November 2018, replacing an existingauthorisation which expired on 30 September," Serica said.
"Discussions continue with OFAC regarding the conditionsunder which authorisation may be given for the provision ofgoods, services and support to allow Rhum production to continuebeyond 4 November."
The $400 million deal, which also covers the Bruce and Keithfields, is yet to complete pending a final U.S. decision onwhether U.S. companies can be involved in running Rhum.
The BP transaction would increase Serica's productionsevenfold to around 21,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, ofwhich around 85 percent is gas.
Rhum was shut down for most of the first half of the decadedue to Western sanctions on Tehran. It resumed normal operationsin 2016 following a nuclear deal between Iran and the world’stop powers.
That accord is in danger of unravelling after U.S. PresidentDonald Trump decided to impose fresh sanctions on Iran.(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; editing by Jason Neely)
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