US pressures Japan to leave Iranian Oil in favor of Libya.

The US is trying to stop Japan from investing in a $2 billion project with Tehran to jointly develop the massive Azadegan oilfield in southwestern Iran.

The oilfield is about the size of Tokyo and has an estimated 26 billion barrels of reserves.

Japanese firms would have a 75% of the project while the remaining 25% would be claimed by the Iranian state run oil company.

The US wants them to abandon this and invest in Libya instead of Iran.

Tehran Times
The United States, which has sanctions against U.S. companies doing business in Iran, has persistently expressed its disappointment that its close ally, resource-poor Japan, would invest in the Islamic Republic in a $2 billion project.

"We understand their energy needs. But there is no question that we are emphasizing that Libya is an alternative that is going to come online soon," the administration official, who asked not to be named, said.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect Japan to give up such a large oil field.

That's very true. I don't see where the US' logic is on this one.

Perhaps they're afraid that they'll have to share the monetary potential in the middle east?

Who's really getting screwed on this deal? Well, it's not the US, since they'll be able to perhaps buy oil from Japan now.

It's not Japan, because they'll own 75% of a HUGE oil reserve...

So, what does the US care? Everyone SEEMINGLY benefits...unless there's something else going on. Is there?

I guess they dont want an ally of the US supporting a country the US views as an enemy.

I still think Japan has to worry about it's own economic survival though.
Right now, they only have domestic production of about 17,500 barrels per day while they consume about 5.2 million.

They are much more reliant on oil from other countries than the US is.