On latest development status of South Pars Phase 11 following the signing of a principal contract within a consortium led by Total S.A., Managing Director of the Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) Mohammad Meshkinfam said the development of the joint gas phase had kicked off.
The official noted that tender documents for construction of the first offshore platform in Phase 11 by the French crude oil industry company asserting “in addition to identifying Iranian contractors, a tender will be soon invited by Total for construction of the offshore jacket.”
He said the French multinational integrated oil and gas company was preparing a conceptual design for offshore facilities of South Pars Phase 11 under supervision of POGC experts; “we are seeking best option in order to prevent all possible lapses in conceptual studies.”
On timing of the contract for development of Phase 11 by a consortium headed by Total, Meshkinfam explained “presently, technical negotiations are being conducted between POGC and the French side though the final contract is expected to be inked by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (to end March 21.”
Early in February, Gholamreza Manouchehri, the NIOC (National Iranian Oil Company) Deputy MD (Managing Director) for Development and Engineering, reported on negotiations between the NIOC and Total S.A. Oil and Gas Company for cooperation on upstream section, manufacturing of equipment, drilling, engineering, and off-coast services saying “the French company has already started its operations in development project of phase 11 of Iran’s South Pars oil and gas field.”
On day ago, Total Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne told reporters in Paris that the development of Phase 11 of Iran’s South Pars gas field will be among a couple of projects to be approved by the company to start by the summer.
However, Pouyanne emphasized that a decision to that effect will depend on whether US President Donald Trump waives executive orders against investments in the Iranian energy sector.
"There are two executive orders that are supposed to be renewed before summer," he said, explaining that Obama’s administration had signed waivers suspending the sanctions.
"These are supposed to last about 18 months. So President Trump will have to, or not, renew these sanction waivers," Pouyanne told journalists in Paris, as reported by Reuters.
Total, together with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Iran’s Petropars, signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) with the NIOC last November to invest in Phase 11 of South Pars.
The value of the project was estimated by the media at the time at $4.8 billion and was to the same effect seen as the biggest contract that the Islamic Republic had awarded for an industrial project after the lifting of the sanctions in early 2016 since it will add 65 million cubic meters of gas to Iran’s volume recovery from the joint gas field with Qatar.
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