Iran bribery charges on Statoil dismissed

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Charges against Norwegian energy giant Statoil related to bribing Iranian officials for access to the South Pars gas field were dismissed, U.S. officials said.

The U.S. Department of Justice in 2006 charged that in 2001 and 2002, Statoil and an offshore intermediary company, Horton Investments Ltd., entered into a "consulting contract" in Iran worth $15 million.

The purpose of the contract was to persuade an Iranian official to help Statoil win a contract to develop the South Pars gas field, the largest in the world, filings said.

The charges state that Statoil made two bribe payments worth more than $5 million and was later awarded a development contract for the offshore gas field.

The Justice Department said that Statoil admitted to making the payments and agreed to pay a $10.5 million penalty, review its polices related to U.S. law on Iranian transactions and appoint an independent consultant to monitor its compliance for three years.

"Three years of diligent efforts by Statoil to address past misconduct and serious compliance failures have led to the dismissal of foreign bribery charges against the company," said U.S. Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer.

Statoil chief Helge Lund said the closure highlights its renewed commitment to ethics.

"While the expiration of the deferred prosecution agreement is an important milestone, and we are content with closing the Horton case, our strong commitment to operating ethically and transparent remains," he said.