Iranian gas infrastructure in the South Pars field. (YouTube/Ministry of Petroleum of Iran)
TEHRAN — Iran will sign a deal with France’s Total on Tuesday for the development of gas production at a major offshore field in the Gulf, the Iranian oil ministry said.
The Heads of Agreement (HOA) for the development of Phase 11 of the important South Pars field is worth $6 billion, a ministry spokesman told AFP.
The accord must be finalized within six months, the spokesman added.
The agreement involves a consortium led by Total, which includes the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Iran’s Petropars.
The deal will be the first of its kind between Iran and a Western petroleum company since a nuclear deal with world powers took effect in January, lifting some international sanctions.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories
French President Francois Hollande greets Iranian President Hassan Rouhani before a meeting at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, January 28, 2016. During Rouhani’s visit, Total and the National Iranian Oil Company signed two major energy deals (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
It also marks the return of Total to Iran, years after it left the Islamic republic in 2012 when France took part in European Union sanctions, including an oil embargo.
Total reached a general agreement in 2004 with Iran for the development of Phase 11 and a gas plant. But it was never finalized.
In June 2009 Tehran signed a nearly $5-billion agreement with CNPC for the development of that phase. That contract was also cancelled in early 2013, because the Chinese side didn’t honor its commitments.
Advertisement
The offshore South Pars field, shared by Iran and Qatar in the Gulf, contains some 14,000 billion cubic meters of gas — 8 percent of the world’s known reserves.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
