Iran will finalise a $5 billion deal with France's Total by March 20 to develop Phase Two of South Pars gas field, the head of the National Iranian Oil Company, Seyfollah Jashnsaz, was quoted as saying by state television. "We have been in talks with Total ... the deal will be finalised by the end of (the current Iranian) year," said Jashnsaz. The Iranian year ends on March 20.
However, Paris-based oil major Total said it did not expect to sign an agreement on South Pars anytime soon. "We are in discussions on the project with Iran as we have been for a long time. Nothing is going to be signed anytime soon," said a spokesman at Total.
Yves-Louis Darricarrere, head of Total's exploration and production, said last week that talks with Tehran were moving "very slowly" and that a decision was still far off. He reiterated that Total would not invest in Iran until the geopolitical environment allowed the French group to do so.
Comments by new US President Barack Obama that he was willing to start talks with Iran have rekindled hopes among companies that courted Iran for energy deals. Many western majors such as Total had come under pressure to stay out of Iran from the French government and the previous US administration, which sought to isolate Tehran over its nuclear programme. Total has a memorandum of understanding with state-owned National Iranian Oil Company to develop Phase II of the huge South Pars field but the project has been overshadowed by haggling over contract terms.