French oil major Total said on Monday it had signed a contract with Iran to develop the giant South Pars gas field, marking the first major Western energy investment since sanctions against Tehran were lifted.

Total and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) signed a deal to develop phase of 11 of South Pars, which is the world’s largest gas field.

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, said Total, which also said the produced gas will supply the Iranian domestic market starting in 2021.

The first phase of the South Pars gas field development will cost around $$2-billion, Total added.

“This is a major agreement for Total, which officially marks our return to Iran to open a new page in the history of our partnership with the country,” said Total Chairman and Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne in a statement. </s> Total and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) signed a deal to develop phase of 11 of South Pars, which is the world's largest gas field.

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, said Total, which also said the produced gas will supply the Iranian domestic market starting in 2021.

The first phase of the South Pars gas field development will cost around $2 billion dollars, Total added.

"This is a major agreement for Total, which officially marks our return to Iran to open a new page in the history of our partnership with the country," said Total Chairman and Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne in a statement. </s> DUBAI, July 2 (Reuters) - Iran plans to sign a new contract to develop its giant South Pars gas field with France's Total and China's CNPC on Monday, the first major Western energy investment since sanctions against Tehran were lifted, an Iranian oil ministry official told Reuters on Sunday.

A spokesman for Total confirmed the company will sign the contract to produce gas for the Iranian market from 2021, adding that the 20-year deal with will be the first Iranian Petroleum Contract (IPC) signed in Iran.

Total holds a 50.1 interest in the South Pars project with state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation owning 30 percent and Iran's Petropars 19.9 percent.

The offshore field was first developed in the 1990s and Total was one of the biggest investors in Iran until the international sanctions were imposed in 2006 over suspicions that Tehran was trying to develop nuclear arms.

Total has decided to return and develop Phase 11 of the South Pars project, which will cost up to $5 billion.

"The international contract for development of Phase 11 of South Pars in the framework of IPC (Iranian Petroleum Contract) will be signed on Monday, July 3, at 14:30, at a ceremony in Tehran attended by Iranian oil minister Zanganeh and senior officials from France´s Total, China´s CNPCI and Iran's Petropars," the Iranian oil ministry official said.

Total's Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne told Reuters last month that the group would make an initial $1 billion investment after the United States extended sanctions relief under the 2015 agreement.

Iran, the third largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, hopes its new IPC contracts will attract foreign companies and boost oil and gas production after years of under-investment.

The vast offshore gas field is shared between Iran and Qatar, where Total is also a major player in gas production as well as in oil and refining. Tehran calls the giant field South Pars while Doha calls it the North Field. (Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Additional reporting by Bate Felix in Paris; Editing by Andrew Torchia and Elaine Hardcastle) </s> TEHRAN (TCA) — The French energy giant Total has signed a multibillion-dollar agreement with Iran on the development of an Iranian offshore natural-gas field — the first major Western energy investment since international sanctions were lifted against Tehran under its nuclear accord with world powers, RFE/RL reported on July 3.

The agreement on developing the South Pars offshore gas field also is Iran's largest business deal with foreign partners since international sanctions against Tehran were eased in 2016.

Total's Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne and Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namadar Zanganeh signed the 20-year deal in the presence of managers of the China National Petroleum Corporation and the Iranian firm Petropars.

Total would lead a consortium over the project that would also comprise CNPC and Petropars. The French company will take a 50.1 percent stake in the South Pars Phase 11 project, while CNPC will own 30 percent and Petropars 19.9 percent.

Total signed a preliminary deal with Iran in November, acquiring a 50.1 percent stake in the $4.8 billion project.

The deal includes 30 natural gas wells and two production units.

The offshore field — the largest natural gas field in the world — was first developed in the 1990s, when Total was one of the largest investors in Iran.

But Total effectively left Iran in 2012 when France joined European Union partners in imposing sanctions over suspicions that Tehran was trying to develop nuclear weapons.

Total said it plans to invest an initial $2 billion for the first stage of the 20-year project.

The aim is to start pumping into Iran's domestic grid in 2021, eventually reaching above 56 million cubic meters of gas per day, PressTV reported. </s> TEHRAN: French energy giant Total will finally sign its multibillion-dollar agreement to develop an Iranian offshore gas field on Monday, the oil ministry said, in the biggest foreign deal since sanctions were eased last year.“The international agreement for the development of phase 11 of South Pars will be signed on Mon-day in the presence of the oil ministry and managers of Total, the Chinese company CNPC and Iranian company Petropars ,” a ministry spokesman told AFP.Total signed a preliminary deal with Iran in November, taking a 50.1% stake in the $4.8 billion (4.2 billion euro) project. China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) will own 30% and Petropars 19.9%.Total will put in an initial $1 billion for the first stage of the 20-year project.It was initially due to sign the contract in early 2017, but CEO Patrick Pouyanne said in February that it would wait to see whether the US administration of President Donald Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran. </s> A spokesman for Total confirmed the company will sign the contract to produce gas for the Iranian market from 2021, adding that the 20-year deal with will be the first Iranian Petroleum Contract (IPC) signed in Iran.

Total holds a 50.1 interest in the South Pars project with state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation owning 30 percent and Iran's Petropars 19.9 percent.

The offshore field was first developed in the 1990s and Total was one of the biggest investors in Iran until the international sanctions were imposed in 2006 over suspicions that Tehran was trying to develop nuclear arms.

Total has decided to return and develop Phase 11 of the South Pars project, which will cost up to $5 billion.

"The international contract for development of Phase 11 of South Pars in the framework of IPC (Iranian Petroleum Contract) will be signed on Monday, July 3, at 14:30, at a ceremony in Tehran attended by Iranian oil minister Zanganeh and senior officials from France’s Total, China’s CNPCI and Iran's Petropars," the Iranian oil ministry official said.

Total's Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne told Reuters last month that the group would make an initial $1 billion investment after the United States extended sanctions relief under the 2015 agreement.

Iran, the third largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, hopes its new IPC contracts will attract foreign companies and boost oil and gas production after years of under-investment.

The vast offshore gas field is shared between Iran and Qatar, where Total is also a major player in gas production as well as in oil and refining. Tehran calls the giant field South Pars while Doha calls it the North Field. </s> Total (NYSE:TOT) says it will sign a deal to invest $1B Iran's giant South Pars gas field tomorrow, in the first major investment by a Western company in the country’s oil and gas sector since sanctions were lifted .

The contract will mark the culmination of months of talks after the French company late last year signed a preliminary $4.8B agreement to develop the field alongside partners China National Petroleum (NYSE:PTR), which owns 30%, and Iran's Petropars (19.9%).

TOT says the gas from the Pars field will supply the domestic market from 2021. </s> LONDON—France’s Total SA said it will sign a deal on Monday that completes a $1 billion investment in a giant Iranian gas field, capping months of negotiations over the first big move by a Western oil company into the country in years.

Total will be the lead operator in a partnership with China National Petroleum Corp. and Iran’s Petropars to develop South Pars—a gas field under the Persian Gulf that is one of the world’s largest.... </s> Iran has signed a $4.8 billion deal with a consortium led by French oil company Total on Monday to develop its giant South Pars gas field, the largest natural gas field in the world.

The deal is the Islamic republic's first with a European oil company in more than a decade, marking a major milestone for a country whose standing as an international trade partner has hung in the balance ever since it was slapped with sanctions in 2006 amid concerns that it was developing nuclear weapons.

Total has taken a 50.1 percent interest in the South Pars project, and alongside state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation, which holds 30 percent, and Iran's Petropars (19.9 percent), will begin producing gas for the Iranian market from 2021.

Though the deal has been a slow burn, coming some 18 months after EU sanctions against the Middle Eastern nation were lifted, Iran will be hoping that it marks a new era of investor confidence and a particular boon for its dwindling oil production.

"Total's decision to sign the South Pars 11 contract is a cautiously positive sign for foreign investment in Iran's upstream," Richard Mallinson, geopolitical analyst at Energy Aspects, told CNBC via email on Monday.
Total, CNPC and NIOC sign an investment of $5 billion in South Pars, the world largest gas field.