Following the definite walkout of European oil companies Shell and Repsol from the phases 13 and 14 of Iran's South Pars project, the upstream development of these two phases will be handed over to the Iranian Khatam-ol-Osea Consortium for $5 billion.
The British-Dutch Shell teamed up with Spain's Repsol and signed a deal with the National Iranian Oil Company in January 2002 to invest in South Pars' phase 13, Press TV reported.
Ever since the deal was signed, Shell has been delaying decisions on multi-billion dollar investments in phase 13 plans, reportedly due to global political pressures.
However, Iran set a deadline for Shell and Repsol in April 2009, giving them until the following month to clarify their involvement in the project.
After nine years of negotiations Iran's oil minister has eventually ordered related officials to stop talks with these firms and turn to Iranian contractors, according to the Mehr News Agency.
The Iranian Khatam-ol-Osea Consortium is made up of several large Iranian companies, namely Khatam-ol Anbia Construction Headquarters, OIEC, SADRA, ISOICO, IDRO, and NIDC.
South Pars field is a gas condensate field located in the Persian Gulf. It is the world's largest gas field, shared between Iran and Qatar.
Iran holds the world's second largest gas reserves and third largest oil reserves.