Oil giant Total says ‘very slim’ chance it’ll receive Iran sanctions waiver

PARIS — French oil company Total says Friday the probability of winning an exemption from US sanctions against Iran to continue a major gas field project is very faint.

The energy giant had already warned that, unless Washington grants it a waiver, it would pull out of the South Pars 11 project which it started in July 2017, two years after Western powers signed a nuclear deal with Tehran prompting the return of many businesses to Iran.

But earlier this month, US President Donald Trump announced his withdrawal from the deal, and told companies that they face sanctions if they do business with Iran.

Iran’s oil minister on Wednesday gave Total 60 days to win a sanctions waiver from Washington or lose its stake in the multi-billion-dollar project.

But on Friday, Total’s chairman Patrick Pouyanne tells shareholders that the prospect of a sanctions exemption are dim. “The probability of us getting an exemption is very slim,” he says.

Total said earlier this month that it has $10 billion of capital employed in its US assets, and US banks are involved in 90 percent of its financing operations, making Total highly vulnerable if targeted by any US actions.

By contrast, Total said it had spent less than 40 million euros ($47 million) on the Iranian project, which it runs with its partner Petrochina and which is dedicated to the supply of domestic gas inside Iran.

— AFP