Production at the Rhum field was suspended in 2010 when Europe imposed sanctions on Iran and only resumed four years later after Britain agreed to set up a temporary management scheme whereby all revenue due to Tehran would be held until sanctions were lifted.
Following the removal of European Union and United Nations sanctions on Iran in January 2016, the temporary management scheme ceased.
Iran regained control of its stake and on Sept. 29, 2016 BP obtained a license from the U.S. Treasury the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), to continue operations at the field, BP said in its 2016 annual report.
BP, which was founded more than a century ago as the Anglo-Persian oil company, has multiple business operations in the United States and therefore needs an OFAC license to avoid potential breaches of existing U.S. sanctions.
Last year BP created an executive committee to explore business in Iran, which would exclude its American chief executive Bob Dudley in a bid to avoid potential sanctions violations.
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