Total Archives - Iran News Daily

Iranian Company Holds South Pars Project Instead of Total, CNPC

reporter 1222 — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 06:07:38 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – An Iranian company is going to take over a drilling project in phase 11 of the country’s South Pars gas field as French company Total and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) dropped out of the project, the oil minister announced.

In remarks at a Tuesday meeting of a headquarters planning a surge in domestic production, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said an Iranian company will resume drilling in the phase 11 of South Pars gas field which has remained unfinished after Total and the CNPC left the project.

The oil minister said it is high on the agenda of the administration to complete the South Pars gas field projects, adding that completion of 17 phases of the field will lead to production of 750 million cubic meters of gas.

Zanganeh also said the Oil Ministry expects to bring 17 petrochemical plants into operation in the current Iranian year, which began four weeks ago, noting that the new plants will produce $6 billion worth of new products.

In July 2017, French company Total signed a $1 billion deal to develop the South Pars gas field in cooperation with China National Petroleum Company (CNPC) and Iran’s PetroPars.

But the French pulled out of the deal in May 2018 in light of a decision by US President Donald Trump to pull his country out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and impose sanctions on Tehran.

Later, the CNPC formally replaced Total in the project, but it suspended investment in Iran later in December 2018 in response to US pressures.

The investment halt followed four rounds of talks between Chinese officials and senior US authorities who urged CNPC to refrain from injecting fresh financing in Iran.

South Pars is the world’s largest gas field.

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Iran Oil Minister Summoned to Parliament over Total Corruption Case

reporter 1222 — Fri, 28 Dec 2018 19:43:55 +0000

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has been summoned to the parliament to explain about several issues, including a recent verdict to fine French oil and gas group Total (TOTF.PA) for bribing foreign officials in a case related to Iranian contracts in 1997, an MP said.

Speaking to the Tasnim News Agency, Hedayatollah Khademi, who is a member of the parliament’s energy commission, said his question from Zanganeh about domestic and foreign policies of the Oil Ministry will be examined in an open session of the parliament soon.

Referring to a recent verdict by a French court against the Total for paying bribes to some Iranian officials, the lawmaker said, “One of the questions will certainly be about this issue.”

“It is necessary to determine which officials were given the bribes in which contract and how much and how they were dealt with,” Khademi said.

Last Friday, a Paris court fined Total 500,000 euros ($570,000) for bribing foreign public officials in a case related to Iranian contracts in 1997.

The Total was charged with paying $30 million under the cover of a consultancy contract to facilitate a deal for the South Pars gas field more than two decades ago, which the Paris prosecutor said covered “corruption payments”.

Court documents said that from around 1995 to 2004, at the request of an Iranian official cited as Medhi Hashemi Rafsanjani, the son of Iran’s former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Total and intermediaries made illicit payments to middlemen designated by Mehdi to help the company, according to Reuters.

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‘Iran won’t refund Total’s investment in South Pars project until it’s operational’

reporter 1222 — Mon, 10 Sep 2018 05:20:58 +0000

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said Iran will refund French oil and gas major Total’s investments in the phase 11 of South Pars gas field but not until the project becomes operational, Shana reported on Saturday.

“Total is not supposed to pay a sum as a penalty to Iran, but the money that this company has invested in phase 11 of South Pars until now will not be reimbursed until the time of operation and production,” Zanganeh said.

According to the minister, the French company has spent near $25 million while working on South Pars project in Iran.

Total signed a contract in 2017 to develop phase 11 of the field with an initial investment of $1 billion, but it pulled out of the project in late August after failing to obtain a waiver from reinstated U.S. sanctions on Tehran.

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Total to leave all equipment, investment in Iran

reporter 1222 — Tue, 28 Aug 2018 11:30:01 +0000

Spokesperson for the Energy Commission said Tue. that all equipment and investment by Total in developing Iran’s South Pars project will remain in the country despite the French energy giant’s exit.

Asadollah Gharehkhani, Spokesperson for the Energy Commission at Iran’s Parliament, said Total terminated a contract to develop Phase 11 of Iran’s South Pars energy hub because the French energy giant started to feel that its continued presence in Iran would deal great damage to the company.

Asked whether necessary guarantees have been taken in case of Total’s exit from Iran, he said “the contract between Iran and Total included a paragraph that indicated in case of Total’s exit from the project, CNPC would replace the French company. This was in a sense an executive guarantee.”

“All costs and equipment invested by Total [in South Pars project] will remain in Iran, and there has been no contract on returning any of them,” he stressed.

“Iran has given no guarantee to Total, either from the banking, public or private sector, that would allow the French company to ask for the return of its equipment and investment,” he added.

Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh announced on Aug. 20 that French energy giant Total has officially left the country due to US extraterritorial sanctions, thus terminating its contract to develop Phase 11 of Iran’s South Pars energy hub.

China’s state-owned energy major CNPC has been said to take over Total’s stake in the South Pars project.

Total had been forced to abandon the South Pars project once before in 2012, when France backed US sanctions, including an oil embargo, against Iran.

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TOTAL not yet announced possible exit from South Pars Gas Field

reporter 1222 — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 07:00:51 +0000

Manager of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for Investment and Business Affairs Mohammad Mostafavi said that France oil major ‘Total’ has not yet announced its official exit from South Pars Gas Field.

Playing the role of members of the consortium for the development of Phase 11 of South Pars Gas Field is in accordance with the provisions of the contract, so that ‘Total’ has not yet announced its official exit from the development of Phase 11 of South Pars Gas Field.

Yesterday, NIOC manager in an interview on Sunday revealed that China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) replaced France’s oil major ‘Total’ with 80.1 percent share in developing Phase 11 of south Pars Gas Field.

Ministry of Oil corrected the news and announced that France’s oil major ‘Total’ exit from South Pars Gas Field is yet to be finalized, so that any change has not been occurred in combination of shareholders of this giant project.

Presently, France’s oil major ‘Total’, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Iran PETROPARS Company account for 50.1, 30 and 19.9 percent share in Phase 11 of South Pars Gas Field respectively, he maintained.

Under the contract, an international consortium, headed by France’s Oil Major ‘Total’, had been set up, which had been composed of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Iranian PETROPARS Company, he concluded.

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TOTAL CEO says it is ‘impossible’ for big energy firms to work in Iran

reporter 1222 — Sat, 23 Jun 2018 05:50:36 +0000

French energy giant Total has yet to permanently pull out of Iran following the renewal of US sanctions, but CEO Patrick Pouyanne sounded a pessimistic note about his company’s prospects in the country.

Total positioned itself to develop a portion of the world’s largest natural gas field after the 2015 Iran nuclear deal lifted punishing sanctions on the Iranian economy. However, the company is now preparing to abandon the Persian Gulf project unless the US government issues the company a sanctions waiver.

That would protect Total from so-called secondary sanctions, which the United States can use to punish foreign companies that engage in prohibited activity with Iran. Washington gave firms 90 to 180 days to wind down their business in the country after President Donald Trumpwithdrew the United States from the nuclear deal last month.

Pouyanne told CNBC at an OPEC seminar in Vienna that his position probably does not sit well with Europe’s leaders. The European Union has attempted to salvage the nuclear deal by passing measures aimed at protecting the bloc’s firms that have business dealings in Iran.

Secondary sanctions are particularly perilous for multinationals like Total. Engaging in sanctioned activity with Iran could prompt the American government to cut Total off from the massive U.S. financial system and force the firm to wind down its operations in the States.

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Iran to seize Total’s investment revenues if it abandons project

reporter 1222 — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 08:30:10 +0000

A member of Parliament’s Energy Committee said Mon. that Iran would seize Total’s investment revenues if the French company fails to return to the South Pars project before the deadline.

Speaking to Mehr News correspondent on Monday, Behrouz Nemati said Total has not yet officially left the South Pars 11 project, adding “as far as we know, the French energy company is still engaged in negotiations.”

“The contract with Total includes an execution deadline,” he said, adding “if the company leaves the project but returns before the deadline, they can still continue with the execution; otherwise, they have to pay compensatory damages.”

According to Nemati, if Total fails to resume the South Pars 11 project before the deadline, all of their investment revenues will go to Iran under the agreement.

Total has less than two months to secure an exemption from US sanctions if it wants to remain as an investor in Iran’s offshore gas exploration.

Nemati added that China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) would take over and begin joint cooperation with the Iranian companies if the US Department of Treasury failed to issue a waiver for Total.

Total signed a deal to invest more than $2bn in Iran in July 2017. Following the US unilateral pullout from the nuclear agreement and the reinstatement of secondary sanctions, the French company said it would not risk investing in Iran, unless it could secure a waiver.

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French Total to apply for waiver if US withdraws from JCPOA

reporter 1222 — Mon, 19 Mar 2018 05:50:57 +0000

French oil major Total is committed to the development of an Iranian gasfield and will apply for a waiver if US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdraws from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and re-imposes sanctions on Tehran, the company’s chief executive said.

“If the US decides to put back the sanctions, we have to look at what the consequences are…and then we will see, either Donald Trump decides to maintain the waivers and we will move on with the project,” Patrick Pouyanne was quoted as saying by ‘The National’ on Sunday March 18, 2018. “If the US decides not to sign the waiver, then what will be our position, it’s quite simple – as the project has been awarded prior to that decision during the period of time that we could sign … we will argue that we should benefit from the grandfather clause and we will ask for a waiver from the US authorities.”

According to ‘The National’, in July last year, Total became the first Western energy company to sign a deal with Iran when it agreed as part of a 20-year contract to develop phase 11 of the country’s South Pars field, the world’s largest gasfield that is shared with Qatar. The project will have a production capacity of 2 billion cubic feet per day or 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day including condensate.

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Total to maximize Iranian share in South Pars project

reporter 1222 — Thu, 22 Feb 2018 07:50:12 +0000

TEHRAN – Total has created a comprehensive database of Iranian contractors and equipment manufacturers to maximize the use of Iranian capacities in the development of phase 11 of Iran’s South Pars gas field, Shana reported on Wednesday quoting an oil official.

According to Habibollah Bitaraf, the Iranian deputy oil minister for engineering, research and technology, the maximum contribution of Iranian contractors and equipment manufacturers in the South Pars project has been emphasized in the contract with Total, and the oil ministry and National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) are closely monitoring the process.

In July 2017, a consortium comprising France’s Total, China’s CNPC International and Petropars Company from Iran signed a contract with NIOC for developing phase 11 of the supergiant South Pars gas field, with Total holding 50.1 percent interest in the project, CNPC owning a 30 percent stake and Petropars holding the remaining 19.9 percent.

According to the Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh Total had pledged 56 million euros ($66 million) for the South Pars project and work is progressing as specified in the contract.

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Total, Shell lease out Iranian oil tankers

reporter 1222 — Thu, 28 Dec 2017 13:30:27 +0000

TEHRAN- National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) Managing Director Sirous Kianersi said that Total and Shell are among the international companies that have leased out Iranian oil tankers since the implementation of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that lifted the sanctions against Iran in January 2016.

In an interview with Tasnim news agency, the official noted that the trend of leasing out NITC tankers to foreign companies has been increasing since implementation of JCPOA and announced that NITC has inked 215 deals for leasing out tankers to foreign companies since then until December.

He named Spain’s Cepsa, the Netherland’s Vitol, Italy’s Saras, Indonesia’s Pertamina, India’s Essar Oil, China’s CNPC and Concord Petroleum, and UAE’s Oilmar Shipping as some other companies that have leased out Iranian tankers.

In May, Kianersi said that the implementation of JCPOA has had a key influence on the activity of NITC as the company’s tankers have been moving comfortably in the international waters since the nuclear deal took effect.

According to the official, removing problems related to insurance and ranking were some other fruits of JCPOA.

NITC, which operates the largest tanker fleet in the Middle East and has the world’s largest fleet of super tankers, transports Iranian crude and also acts as an independent entity in contracts with foreign concerns for crude oil transportation based on prevailing international freight rates.

The company has recently received the European Union (EU)’s shipping monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) regulation certificate that its primary aim is for reducing CO2 emissions from maritime transport.

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