Total signs Iran’s first energy deal since easing of sanctions
TEHRAN Iran signed a formal contract with Total to develop its share of the world’s biggest natural gas field — the first investment in the country by an international energy company since sanctions were eased last year.
The 20-year deal with National Iranian Oil Co. and China National Petroleum Corp. to develop phase 11 of the South Pars offshore gas field represents the “first of many” projects for Total in Iran, chief executive officer Patrick Pouyanne said Monday at a signing ceremony in Tehran.
Total will be operator of the project, with the first phase estimated to cost the partners about US$2 billion. Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh put the overall value of the contract at about US$5 billion.
The agreement is “a big deal” for Iran and “will open the door for more companies to sign contracts” with the country, said Robin Mills, the head of Dubai-based consultant Qamar Energy.
It “also gains the Iranians some diplomatic cover from both France and China in the event of attempts to impose further sanctions,” he said, referring to antagonism to Iran expressed by some U.S. government officials, including President Donald Trump.
South Pars is Iran’s section of the world’s biggest gas deposit, shared also with Qatar, and the Persian Gulf field lies at the centre of a dispute embroiling Qatar and several Arab neighbours.
Saudi Arabia severed commercial links with Qatar last month, accusing it of cozying up to archrival Iran.
Qatar initially faced a Monday deadline to comply with 13 demands from a Saudi-led coalition, including a cutback in relations with Iran.
The coalition agreed later to extend its deadline by two days, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.
Iran holds the world’s largest gas reserves, estimated by BP at 33 trillion cubic metres, and is the third-biggest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The producer is wooing companies such as Total, Royal Dutch Shell and Russia’s Lukoil PJSC to invest in its oil and gas fields to boost production.
Its oil output climbed 33 per cent last year after sanctions related to its nuclear program were eased in January 2016, according to data.
Total will have a 50.1 per cent stake in the project, with CNPC at 30 per cent and Iran’s Petropars, a NIOC subsidiary, at 19.9 per cent. The deal is the first to be done under Iran’s new energy investment contract, which the government crafted to offer more attractive terms to international companies.
Total was working on South Pars until sanctions forced it to withdraw in 2009.
Production will be two billion cubic feet of gas a day, or 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day including condensate, Total said.