State-owned Petropars Co. of Iran will develop Phase 11 of giant South Pars gas field alone following withdrawal from the project by China National Petroleum Corp.
The Chinese company had been designated operator after Total SA exited the project in August 2018. Total acted in response to reinstatement of sanctions against the Islamic Republic after the US withdrew the preceding May from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) addressing Iranian nuclear development.
When Total signed the South Pars 11 contract with National Iranian Oil Co. in July 2017, it became the first western company to return to Iran after the lifting of international sanctions under the JCPOA (OGJ Online, July 3, 2017).
CNPC suspended investment in South Pars 11 last December.
Bijan Zangeneh, Iran’s minister of petroleum, announced the company’s withdrawal from the contract on Oct. 6.
“The fate of the South Pars Phase 11 has been determined, and Petropars will continue developing the project alone,” he told reporters, according to the official Shana News Agency.
South Pars 11 is to produce 2 bcfd of gas and 80,000 b/d of condensate. The original contract covers two platforms with 12 wells each.
A later contract is planned for pressure-booster platforms for which Petropars, a unit of NIOC, is believed to need international assistance.
