
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, June 16, 1990                   TAG: 9006160209
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS                                LENGTH: Short

IRAN TO REPAY U.S. OIL DEBTS

Iran removed one of the biggest obstacles to renewed trade with the United States on Friday by agreeing to pay a U.S. oil company $600 million for facilities seized during the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Two claims totaling $600 million were awarded to the American oil giant Amoco, said an official of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal. It was the biggest settlement in the arbitration body's nine-year history.

The Tehran government has hinted recently that the resolution of financial disputes with the United States might contribute to the release of the six American hostages held by pro-Iranian Shiite extremists in Lebanon.

The Amoco settlement was among more than $1.8 billion in oil company claims stemming from Iran's Islamic revolution led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

At issue in Friday's settlement were two claims filed by Amoco subsidiaries against the National Iranian Oil Co., according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with tribunal policy.

The Amoco Iran Oil Co. is receiving $540 million worth of compensation for the seizure of four Persian Gulf drilling fields and the oil terminal on Kharg island, which is presently Iran's most important oil terminal.

The Amoco International Finance Corp. is to receive $60 million for the expropriation of a petrochemical processing plant on Kharg, the official said.

by CNB