TOKYO — Twelve years after leaving an oil field project in southwestern Iran under pressure from Washington, Japan finds itself in a familiar position, this time over an energy project in Russia’s Far East.
With 26 billion barrels, Iran’s Azadegan oil field had one of the world’s largest reserves. The government-funded Japan Oil Development Co. (now INPEX) acquired a 75% stake in the project in 2004, eager to develop an oil field that Japan had strong control over.