Iran signs US$4.8b gas deal with Total

IRAN ON Tuesday signed a preliminary US$4.8 billion gas agreement with the French company Total, the first such deal after a nuclear accord with world powers removed international sanctions that had squeezed its fossil fuel-based economy.

The agreement, to be finalised next year, is for new development at the vast South Pars gasfield, and aims to produce 1.8 billion cubic feet (56 million cubic metres) of gas per day for domestic consumption and export.

Total would have a 50.1 per cent stake, the China National Petroleum Corporation would have 30 per cent, and Petropars, a subsidiary of Iran’s national oil company, will have 19.9 per cent ownership. The three-year