Shell, Repsol, Total, Defy U.S. to Seek Iran Deals

Shell, Repsol, Total, Defy U.S. to Seek Iran Deals

President George W. Bush's campaign to turn Iran into an economic pariah is being rebuffed from Spain to Malaysia as countries and companies pursue long-term agreements to tap into the world's second-largest reserves of oil and gas.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Europe's largest oil company, and Spain's Repsol YPF SA -- which last month signed a new agreement on a three-year-old gas production project, estimated at more than $10 billion -- are among those who can ill afford to give up oil and natural-gas projects in Iran, said James Bell, president of Gas Strategies, a London-based consulting firm.