Money: a blanket that covers a lot of sins

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, Russia and China have reasons to side with Iran against the West in Iran's self-inflicted confrontation over its nuclear program.

One of Russia's chief reasons is the economic opportunities for partnering with Iran, particularly in energy deals.

Here is one prize Russia has its eyes on.

Russian gas giant Gazprom said it is interested in the Iranian gas field South Pars, estimated by some to be the biggest reserve of natural gas in the world, according to AFP.

Gazprom chairman Alexei Miller met with Iranian ambassador Gholamreza Ansari in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss a possible role for Gazprom in the development of the Iranian gas sector, the company said in a statement.

Iran is eager to keep pushing development of the South Pars field, to reap the benefits of petroleum sales.

A senior oil industry official said here Wednesday that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has conditioned his approval of the proposed changes to the contract for developing Phases IX and X of the South Pars gas field to the completion of the project four months ahead of schedule.

Akbar Torkan, managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Company, told ISNA the company is in talks with contractors to revise their schedules to meet the president’s condition.

He said the proposed changes relate to financial issues of the project, adding that the Economy Council, which is headed by the chief executive, would approve the proposed changes.

"But the president has said that he will give the go-ahead to the move only if the project is expedited," he said, adding that the contractors are studying ways and means of completing the project four months earlier.

A map of the South Pars field can be found here.

A comprehensive look at Iran's oil and gas industry can be found here.