Azernews.Az

By Nigar Abbasova

The Islamic Republic of Iran is gradually restoring its commercial ties with world energy giants, in the wake of easing of sanctions and implementation of the Joint Plan of Action (JCPOA).

France's Total signed a deal with Iran on the further development of a large on-shore field in the Persian Gulf, becoming the first western energy company to sign a major investment deal with Iran since the lifting of international sanctions.

Deputy Head of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Gholam-Reza Manouchehri said that the agreement covers the Phase 11 development of the South Pars.

The agreement was signed with a consortium (headed by Total), which includes China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Iranian Petropars.

The consortium is reportedly expected to invest some $4.8 billion in the implementation of the project. Total will possess a 50.1 percent share, while the shares of Petropars, a subsidiary of NIOC, and CNPC will amount to 19.9 and 30 percent respectively.

The French company has already made a key contribution to the energy industry of Iran, including the development of phases 2 and 3 of South Pars in the 2000s. Moreover, Total earlier became the first European energy company to resume buying Iranian oil after the sanctions were lifted.

South Pars is considered to be the world's largest gas field, which also extends into Qatari waters where it is known as the North field. The field, which is divided into 29 phases contains some 14 trillion cubic meters of gas, which stands for about 8 percent of the total global reserves.

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Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova

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