Baku, Azerbaijan, May 25
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran may sign a contract with French energy company Total to develop the phase 11 of the South Pars gas field, which is located in the Persian Gulf.
The probability of Total's return to the project is intensified as China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has been dismissed from the project due to its repeated delays, Iran's Mehr news agency reported on May 25.
In response to a question about the return of Total to the project, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh just said: "Maybe."
The Iranian Oil Ministry awarded CNPC the contract after Total and its team failed to commit to an agreement made in 2000 that envisaged a two-phased project to produce gas and build an LNG plant at the gas field.
Phase 11 of South Pars is being developed to produce two billion cubic feet a day of sour gas and 80,000 barrels a day of gas condensate.
Iran is currently producing 300 million cubic meters (mcm) per day of gas from South Pars.
The country, which sits on the world's second largest natural gas reserves after Russia, has been trying to enhance its gas production by increasing foreign and domestic investments, especially in South Pars gas field.
The South Pars gas field, divided into 28 phases, is located in the Persian Gulf on the common border between Iran and Qatar. It is estimated that the field contains 14 trillion cubic meters of gas and 18 billion barrels of condensate.