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Iran says Total not withdrawn from SP Phase 11 yet

Top officials from Total, CNPC and Petropars as well as Iran's Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh (second, right) in the signing ceremony for the development of South Pars Phase 11. (File photo by IRNA)

Iran says French energy giant Total is still to officially announce its withdrawal from one of the country’s biggest gas projects with a top official saying no change has been occurred in the combination of a consortium formed over the project.

Mohammad Mostafavi, head of investment and business affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), was quoted by media as saying that the terms of the contract with Total, China’s CNPC and Iran’s Petropars over the development of Phase 11 of South Pars had no changed yet.

In July 2017, the NIOC awarded the project to the trio through a contract worth around $4 billion.

Total – with a leading share of 50.1 percent in the development of Phase 11 - had earlier announced it would withdraw from the project once the US restores the sanctions against Iran.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order which made the sanctions against Iran effective.

The sanctions would in the first wave prevent Iran’s access to the US dollar among other restrictions. The second wave that would hit in November would ban investments in Iran’s oil and gas projects.  

Following Total’s announcement, speculations emerged that CNPC would replace the French company in leading the project’s development with a revised share of 80 percent.  

This is while Mostafavi was quoted by media as saying that the distribution of the shares of the consortium still remained unchanged.

“The roles of each consortium member over the development of Phase 11 are based on the contract and Total has not officially withdrawn from it so as to create any changes,” he told Shana news agency of Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum.

Total has not said what it would do with its 50.1 percent stake should it pull out, and it has until Nov. 4 to wind down its Iran operations, wrote Reuters in a report over the development.

 

 

 


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