Iran: France's Total signs MOU with Iran and China on South Pars gas field

The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and a consortium comprising France's Total S.A. and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) signed a memorandum of understanding on the further development of phase 11 of the South Pars Gas Field, in Tehran on Tuesday.
Iran's Petropars Oilfield Services Company (POSCO) was also part of the deal which was signed in the presence of Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh. Total said it would operate the SP11 project with a 50.1 percent stake, while state-owned CNPC would have a 30 percent stake. Petropars, a subsidiary of NIOC, will hold a 19.9 percent share.
The South Pars 11 project will be developed in two phases. "The first phase, with an estimated total cost of around 2 billion dollars equivalent, will consist of 30 wells and 2 well head platforms connected to existing onshore treatment facilities by 2 subsea pipelines," Total said in a statement. "At a later stage, a second investment phase, involving the construction of offshore compression facilities, will be launched once required by the reservoir conditions."
In March, Zangeneh reported on the signing of a confidentiality agreement with Total over expansion of the Iranian gas field, stressing that “the signing of the contract would not mean complete assignment of the project to the French firm.”
The South Pars Gas Field, which is believed to be the largest single gas field in the world, is a joint gas field in the Persian Gulf on the border of Iran and Qatar.