French energy giant Total quits Iran gas project with China’s CNPC as US reimposes sanctions
Total would have been highly vulnerable to US penalties for remaining in Iran
French energy giant Total has officially quit its multibillion dollar gas project in Iran, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Monday, following the reimposition of US sanctions.
“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,” he told parliament’s news agency ICANA.
Zanganeh also appeared before parliament to underline the dire state of Iran’s oil and gas facilities, which he said were “worn out” and in need of renovation that Iran could not afford.
The United States said in May that it was abandoning the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposing sanctions on Iran in two phases in August and November.
The second phase will target Iran’s oil industry.
The other parties to the nuclear deal – Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia – have vowed to stay in the accord but their companies risk huge penalties if they keep doing business in Iran.