Iran: USA can’t make Total leave South Pars

Iran

TEHRAN, November 20, 2017 – Total cannot abandon its mega-project in Iran’s South Pars gasfield unless the UN Security Council restores sanctions, Iran’s petroleum minister said on Saturday.

“We have signed a legally binding contract with Total, CNPC International and Petropars and it has been stipulated in the document how and under which circumstances each side of the deal may abandon the project,” Shana reported Bijan Namdar Zangeneh as saying.

The minister’s comments followed a CNN interview with Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne last week, in which Pouyanne, citing company assets in the US, indicated that “a change in the sanctions regime” could prompt Total to reconsider its Iran investment.

In July, Total, leading a consortium with CNPC and Iran’s Petropars, signed a contract to develop South Pars phase 11, a segment of the super-giant gasfield. Total will operate the project with a stake of 50.1% while CNPC and Petropars will have 30% and 19.9% stakes, respectively. The project has been valued at USD 4.8 billion.

Total’s history in Iran dates back to the 1990s, when the company began developing the Sirri A and B fields. The company also signed contracts for developing South Pars phases 2 and 3 in co-operation with Petronas and Gazprom, but was forced to leave Iran in 2009 as sanctions were imposed.