Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Iran attacked and seized control of a Romanian oil rig today in the Persian Gulf, one week after the European company removed another of its rigs from Iranian waters because of non-payment of fees.

An Iranian naval vessel fired on the rig, named Orizont, owned by Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP) in Iran's offshore Salman field and took control of its radio room at about 7 a.m. local time, Lulu Tabanesku, Grup's representative in the United Arab Emirates said in a phone interview from Dubai today.

``The Iranians fired at the rig's crane with machine guns,'' Tabanesku said. ``They are in control now and we can't contact the rig.'' The Romanian company has 26 workers on the platform, he said.

Iran, which holds the world's second-largest oil and gas reserves, is due to respond today to a European Union-led offer of incentives aimed at persuading it to halt uranium enrichment activities that are crucial to its nuclear program.

The Islamic Republic accused Grup on Aug. 15 of ``hijacking'' a rig from the same Iranian waters where Orizont operates close to the Straits of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of the world's daily crude supply moves on tankers.

Grup said it moved the rig to U.A.E. waters because its client, Oriental Oil Kish, had not met agreed payment terms.

International Court

The Romanian company is seeking to reclaim unpaid fees through the International Court of Arbitration in Paris, Bader Mohammed al-Gurg, a partner at Dubai-based Horizons Advocates & Legal Consultants, which is representing the Romanian rig company in the dispute, said in a telephone interview from Dubai today.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad suspended Oriental Oil's activities in 2005 on charges of ``financial corruption'' and ties to Halliburton Co., state news agencies reported last August. Four employees were suspected of taking bribes from an unidentified oil company, Iran's Etemad newspaper has reported.

The U.A.E.-registered drilling company had signed a preliminary contract with Halliburton Co. after winning an estimated $310 million contract to develop phases 9 and 10 of Iran's offshore South Pars gas reservoir.

Storming the Romanian rig ``sends a message that Iran can project its power and could interfere in oil production,'' Heinrich Matthee, Iran analyst for Control Risk Group, said in a phone interview today from London.

Romania

The Iranian oil ministry and Iran's Revolutionary Guards could not be reached for comment when called. Today is a national holiday in Iran.

Romania has ``asked for clarification over the situation of Romanian citizens and their release if they are being held,'' the Romanian foreign ministry said in an e-mailed statement today. ``A note has been sent to the Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry requesting clarification.''

Romania's ``Foreign Affairs Ministry will continue to follow the situation with close attention,'' it said.

Crude oil for September was at $72.40 a barrel, down 5 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:51 p.m. in London. The contract expires today. The more-active October contract was down 13 cents at $73.17 a barrel.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andy Critchlow in Dubai at at acritchlow1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 22, 2006 10:32 EDT