Total’s negotiations with Tehran on a multi-billion dollar contract to develop a major Iranian gas field are at a standstill, the head of the French oil major said.
“The (negotiations) have not been broken and they have not been resumed either. They are not in a very advanced state,” chief executive Christophe de Margerie said at an econ-omic forum in France.
Last month, the official Iranian news agency IRNA said Tehran had signed a $4.7 billion contract with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to develop phase 11 of South Pars, replacing Total which it had accused of delays.
“We are waiting for things to calm down after all the news that came out, incid-entally, in the run up to the elections. People have been played off politically against each other,” de Margerie said, adding Iran remained a key country for Total.
“Liquefied natural gas is a complicated thing and our Chinese partners are good investors and good candi-dates but I think, in the nicest possible way, that they don’t have the same kind of expertise as we do.”
Total has a memorandum of understanding with NIOC, the Irani oil company, to develop Phase 11, but the project but it was over-shadowed by haggling over contract terms.
NIOC has accused Total of delays and said it had given the company an ultimatum six months ago to finalise work on the project.
The South Pars reservoir is shared by Iran and Qatar.
Sorce:http://www.7days.ae
Recent Posts:
- Aussie company wins huge deal
- Standstill thaws as top polluters pledge greenhouse cuts
- Standstill thaws as top polluters pledge greenhouse cuts
- iPad rosy news for Asian companies
- Bust up over bank reforms
Similar Posts:
- Iran needs gas funding
- Chinese firm is on track
- Nuclear contract to be awarded
- Majority buy for DP World
- Iraq signs BP deal for major oilfield
Get RSS Post Updates
