Total to sign Iran gas deal, biggest since sanctions lifted

French energy giant Total will finally sign its multibillion-dollar agreement to develop an Iranian offshore gas field on Monday, the Oil Ministry said, in the biggest foreign deal since sanctions were eased last year.
“The international agreement for the development of phase 11 of South Pars will be signed on Monday in the presence of the Oil Ministry and managers of Total, the Chinese company CNPC and Iranian company Petropars,” a ministry spokesman told AFP.
Total signed a preliminary deal with Iran in November, taking a 50.1 percent stake in the $4.8 billion project.
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) will own 30 percent and Petropars 19.9 percent. Total will put in an initial $1 billion for the first stage of the 20-year project.The gas produced will “feed into the domestic Iranian market starting from 2021,” a Total spokesman told AFP in Paris. He said the company would “implement the project with the strictest respect for the national and international law.”
The contract was initially due to be signed in early 2017, but CEO Patrick Pouyanne said in February that Total would wait to see whether the US administration of President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran.
Trump threatened during his campaign to tear up the accord between Iran and six world powers that came into force in January 2016 and eased sanctions in exchange for curbs to Tehran’s nuclear program.
His administration has taken a tough line on Iran and imposed fresh sanctions related to its ballistic missile program and military activities in the region.

Source: Arab News