Tehran, Iran, Oct. 16
Trend
A major oil deal signed in May between the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) and a consortium of international companies, known as Pergas, for development of Karanj oilfield in the country’s southwestern province of Khuzestan has been finalized, a senior official said.
“The contract for the development of Karanj oilfield with London-based Pergas has been finalized,” CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Ali Kardor said on Tuesday, Mehr news agency reported on October 16.
According to the agreement, Pergas would help Iran to produce 655 million barrels of oil from the field in Khuzestan province over the next 10 years.
The deal was signed in Tehran on May 16 during a ceremony attended by Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh, British Ambassador to Iran Rob Macaire and Pergas Managing Director Colin Rowle.
The agreement was announced on the same day that French energy group Total said it would pull out of a multibillion-dollar gas project in Iran if it couldn’t secure a waiver from US sanctions.
US President Donald Trump announced in May that Washington was pulling out of the nuclear agreement which lifted nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran in exchange for restrictions on Tehran's nuclear program. The deal had been signed between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- plus Germany in 2015.
The US administration reintroduced the previous sanctions while imposing new ones on the Islamic Republic. It also introduced punitive measures — known as secondary sanctions — against third countries doing business with Iran.
A first round of US sanctions took effect in August, targeting Iran's access to the US dollar, metals trading, coal, industrial software, and auto sector. A second round, forthcoming on November 4, will be targeting Iran’s oil sales and its Central Bank.