Iran to award new gas contract to Total

Iran has decided to award French oil giant Total a Euro 1 bn contract to develop phase 11 of the massive South Pars offshore gas field, the Islamic republic's deputy oil minister told.
"Total has been chosen to develop phase 11 of South Pars," said Mehdi Mirmoezi on the sidelines of a conference on gas exports being held in Tehran. "The final negotiations are in progress, and unless there is a problem, the contract will be signed in one or two months," he said.

British Petroleum (BP), Italy's ENI and Norway's Statoil had also been competing for the contract. But Total is believed to have benefited from its already strong presence in Iran, including in the field of LNG.
Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh had already voiced his desire to see a company deeply engaged in LNG operations get the deal, so as to facilitate exports. Gas from phase 11 is earmarked for European markets.

In 1997, Total was awarded buyback contracts for phases 2 and Under the Iranian constitution, foreign companies are not allowed to take an equity stake in any national oil and gas project, but can participate under a buyback scheme enabling them to invest and later receive a portion of sales. Aside from South Pars, Total is engaged in the Sirri A and E oil fields, which began producing in 1998-99, and the already exploited Dorood and Balal fields.
In February, Total -- together with Malaysia's Petronas and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) won a Euro 1.6 bn contract for an LNG plant at South Pars.