RusEnergy

Oct. 30, 2007 - Kommersant - U.S. Hyperion Resources has urged Russia’s Tatneft to develop joint projects in Iraq. But no foreign company may operate in Iraq until a new act on crude oil that will govern the work with subsoil wealth of the country is signed there. U.S. Hyperion Resources has proposed to Tatneft to develop joint projects in Iraq, Russia’s company reported in its Neftyanye Vesti (Crude News) corporate newspaper. Tatneft delegation and delegation of Hyperion that was led by its Chief Executive Albert Huddleston met past week. Hyperion said it concluded a memorandum with Iraq’s Oil Ministry authorizing it to work in the country. Although quite a number of companies have approached them with the partnership offers, they would like to start with Tatneft, Huddleston said. As to Tatneft, its spokesman Rustam Rafikov said the parties have inked only the protocol on intentions that doesn’t specify any definite form of cooperation. Tatneft is involved in a few projects in the Arab world, operating, in particular, in Syria, Libya and Oman. It once worked in Iraq, rendering services to Iraq’s Northern Oil Company (drilling 45 wells for Iraqi partner), but it had to terminate all activities in March 2003, when the war began. Despite the strong will to revive that contract, the company hasn’t done it yet, representatives of Tatneft said. Tatneft’s potential partner, Texas Hyperion Resources drew the public attention in June by winning the contract for constructing a refinery of 20-million ton capacity in South Dakota. The project budget amounts to $8 billion, while the company’s turnover is no more than $12.3 million, according to the Dun & Bradstreet database. But Hyperion Resources has money. The farther in law of its chief, Mr Huddleston is the son of oil multimillionaire Haroldson Lafayette Hunt, the founder of U.S. Hunt Oil.