Total has officially withdrawn from South Pars: Zanganeh

Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh says French energy giant Total has officially left the country, ending speculations over whether it would stay to finish a gas project following the return of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

According to Press TV, Zanganeh was quoted by media as saying that Total had informed Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum “over two months ago” that it would leave Iran, adding that its contract to develop Phase 11 of Iran’s South Pars energy hub had been thus terminated. 

He further emphasized that the proceedings to replace the French company in Phase 11 were underway.

In July 2017, the NIOC awarded the project to a consortium comprising Total (50.1 percent), China’s CNPC (30 percent) and Iran’s Petropars (19.9 percent) through a contract worth around $4 billion.

However, when the US announced that it would restore sanctions against Iran, the French major said it would withdraw from Phase 11 to avoid American punitive measures.

This triggered speculations that CNPC would assume Total’s share in the project to be the consortium leader with a total share of around 80 percent. 

The objective of the development of Phase 11 was to produce a daily of above 56 million cubic meters (around 2 billion cubic feet) of natural gas into Iran’s domestic grid from 2021.

SS