Total Commits $1 Billion to Iranian Gas Project
June 20 2017 - 8:24AM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah Kent
LONDON--France's Total SA (TOT) on Tuesday said it is planning
to push forward with a $1 billion investment in a giant Iranian gas
field, marking the first commitment by a Western company to put
real money into the Islamic Republic's re-emerging energy
industry.
The Paris-based oil giant has been at the forefront of Western
energy companies looking to return to the oil-rich country since
sanctions on its energy industry were lifted, despite ongoing U.S.
restrictions on business dealings with the country.
Total reached a preliminary agreement to invest $4.8 billion to
develop the massive gas deposit alongside China National Petroleum
Corp. late last year and has been working for months to finalize
the project to develop South Pars, part of the world's largest gas
field.
In May, Iran's oil minister Bijan Zanganeh told The Wall Street
Journal he was "very optimistic" of reaching an agreement with the
company "very soon."
The imminent investment decision by the French oil major was
first reported by Reuters.
The deal would mark a step forward in the development of Iran's
oil industry, as many companies have been cautious to return with
uncertainty over U.S. sanctions still looming.
Write to Sarah Kent at sarah.kent@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 20, 2017 08:09 ET (12:09 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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