BP to restart North Sea gas field half-owned by Iran

LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - BP will restart the Rhum gas field in the UK North Sea, half-owned by Iran's National Oil Company, four years after the field was shut down due to Western sanctions, a BP spokesman said on Friday.

Production from the field, which supplied 4 percent to 5 percent of Britain's demand before its shutdown, is expected to begin this weekend.

BP received approval from the British government to resume production after the government put the field under a temporary management scheme whereby all revenue due to Tehran will be held until sanctions are lifted, the spokesman said. (Reporting by Ron Bousso, editing by David Evans)