Alwaght- Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Monday French energy giant Total has officially left Iran, following the return of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
"Total has officially left the agreement for the development of phase 11 of South Pars (gas field). It has been more than two months that it announced that it would leave the contract,” Zanganeh said, as quoted by the government-run ICANA news agency.
He further emphasized that the proceedings to replace the French company in Phase 11 were underway.
In July 2017, the National Iranian Oil Company awarded the project to a consortium comprising Total (50.1 percent), China’s CNPC (30 percent) and Iran’s Petropars (19.9 percent) through a contract worth around $4 billion.
However, when the US announced that it would restore sanctions against Iran, the French major said it would withdraw from Phase 11 to avoid American punitive measures.
The objective of the development of Phase 11 was to produce a daily of above 56 million cubic meters (around 2 billion cubic feet) of natural gas into Iran’s domestic grid from 2021.
The US withdrew from the nuclear deal signed in 2015 between Iran and a group of nations including Russia, China and the European Union. As part of the agreement Iran vowed to limit its nuclear enrichment program and, in return, decades-long economic sanctions against Tehran were to be lifted.
The renewed US penalties, targeting the automobile sector along with gold and other metals trading, came into force on August 7. The second round of sanctions imposed by Washington is set to come into effect on November 4. The broader measures will target Iranian oil and shipping sectors, as well as transactions tied to energy trading and the country’s central bank.
Earlier this month, the EU officials pledged to protect the European companies doing business in Iran by enforcing the so-called Blocking Statute – a law of one jurisdiction that is designed to hinder application of a ruling made by a foreign jurisdiction. Brussels said that despite US sanctions, European firms would continue working in Iran under the protection of the EU.
The announcement by Brussels failed to assure major European firms. Apart from Total, shipping giant Maersk announced it would no longer transport Iranian energy products. Vehicle manufacturers Peugeot said they would leave the Islamic Republic, while Daimler halted expanding its business in the country.
