TEHRAN (P.I.N.) -- The Norwegian oil company Statoil and the French firm Total have signed a pledge not to divulge confidential information about Iranian oil fields offered for development, a senior official said on Monday.

"The companies applying for development of Iranian oil fields should sign a pledge to keep the information secret in order to be allowed to bid for contribution to Iranian projects," Nasrollah Ebrahimi, director for legal affairs at the Petroleum Development Company, told PIN in an interview.

"In certain circumstances, classified information about oil deals becomes specifically important and the deals are drafted in accordance with the data," he added.

Last week, Statoil was quick to deny a report from Tehran that it was linking up with Total to win contracts to operate a major field in southwest Iran.

"Statoil has no relationship with (the French company) Total, and there is no cooperation between the two companies," Kai Nielsen, spokesman for Statoil, said.

Ebrahimi said the Petroleum Development Company (PEDEC) was involved in talks for development of Azadegan, Bangestan, Koushk and Hosseinieh oil fields. He added that all bidders are required to sign the pledge for keeping information secret. The official noted that the recent bribery allegations within Statoil structure had nothing to do with its activities in Iran. "The relations between a company and its host nation are damaged when the company violates the regulations of its country of origin to bring about restrictions for its activities."

Norwegian police raided Statoil's headquarters on September 11 following media reports alleging the company had last year signed an 11-year contract with an Iranian consultant, Abbas Yazdi, for 15.2 million dollars to smooth business development deals in Iran.

Ebrahimi said: "Qualified officials from Iran and Norway are examining allegations against Statoil to shed light on the case." He noted that Statoil could not be deprived of bidding for Iranian oil deals before it is proven to have been involved in the scandal.

"Statoil faces no such restrictions and it can continue its activities for development of Iranian oil and gas projects," he said. The official said Iran was ready to cooperate with any foreign company willing to develop Iranian oil fields. "Signature of any agreement involves macroeconomic policies, oil policies, national interests and present circumstances."

Elsewhere, Ebrahimi said that fresh negotiations were not required with Italian ENI to develop the second phase of Darkhowin oil field. "The National Iranian Oil Company has endorsed ENI's operations and so the second phase goes ahead under the same deal signed for development of the first phase."

A senior official said last week that Statoil and Total were cooperating in a bid to win the right to exploit the Azadegan field, estimated to be the country's biggest with reserves totaling 26 billion barrels.

Iran and Japan agreed in 2000 to begin talks about a joint project in Azadegan but Iran has said that the deadline for exclusive negotiations with a Japanese consortium had run out at the end of June and that other companies could now make their bids.

The United States has put pressure on Tokyo not to invest in Iran because of Tehran's nuclear program.

Statoil is heavily involved in oil activities in Iran, where last year it won a contract to develop South Pars, one of the world's largest natural gas fields. NIOC is Statoil's partner in the contract.