Total, Iran to ink gas deal as Trump agrees with nuclear pact

By Azernews

By Kamila Aliyeva

Iran is going to sign a deal on South Pars gas field’s Phase 11 with Total which will most likely happen in less than a month, Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs and Trade Amir Hossein Zamaninia said.

The news comes a few days after U.S. President Donald Trump extended a halt to the implementation of a set of sanctions on Iran, easing concerns by Total that their deal with Iran would be stalled if Trump implemented the sanctions.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson certified on April 18 that Iran is complying with the terms of former President Barack Obama's historic deal to roll back its nuclear program. The certification, made to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), extended sanctions relief to Iran.

Total was waiting for the settlement of some changes in Washington, which now have happened and the company is continuing the talks, Zamaninia mentioned in an interview with ISNA news agency April 23.

Earlier in February, Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister Ali Kardor said that Total had launched the planning to build the first pillar of the platform at South Pars Phase 11.

"A team from Total recently visited Iran…. They have stressed that they will continue their cooperation with Iran," Kardor said.

French oil major Total earlier signed a preliminary agreement to help develop the massive field (South Pars Phase 11 (SP11)), becoming the first Western energy investment in Iran since international sanctions were lifted following the JCPOA. The overall cost of the project is estimated to reach $4.8 billion.

The company was also involved in the development of Phases 2 and 3 of the project in 2000.

Iran plans to increase the gas production level at South Pars, the world's largest gas field, to 530 mcm/d by March 2017, while total gas output of the country is planned to reach about 830 mcm/d.

South Pars covers an area of nearly 9,700 square kilometers, with 3,700 square kilometers falling to a share of Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 square kilometers are situated in Qatar’s territorial waters.

South Pars, divided into 29 development phases, holds 40 tcm of natural gas, or 21 percent of world’s total gas reserves, and 50 billion barrels of condensate.

In July 2015, Iran and global powers reached what has been described as a nuke deal, where Iran agreed it would scale down its nuclear program, in return for the crippling economic sanctions being eased and eventually lifted against the oil and gas rich Islamic Republic.

After lifting the sanctions, Iran got new possibilities and access to foreign resources which were inaccessible due to the sanctions.