Speaking to ICANA, Zanganeh said, “China’s CNPC has officially replaced Total in phase 11 of South Pars, but it has not started any operations yet.”
The veteran minister added that talks need to be held with CNPC about when it will start operations.
Operating the project with a 50.1% stake, Total was partnered by China's CNPC (30%) and Iran's Petropars (19.9%) in the multi-billion-dollar gas project.
However, the French company said in August it would withdraw from the project after it failed to obtain a waiver from US sanctions against Iran.
According to reports, CNPC was announced as the potential option for taking over Total’s stake in the project.
According to Amir Hossein Zamaninia, the deputy oil minister for international affairs, Total submitted the project's documents to CNPC last month, however the Chinese company has not launched any operations yet.
The official added that several meetings have been held between the two oil majors to discuss the transition details.
CNPC had said earlier that it needed time to study the new conditions.
The offshore field, which Iran calls South Pars and Qatar calls North Field, holds the world’s largest natural gas reserves ever found in one place.
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