Total: We Will Invest in Iran If the U.S. Does Not Impose New Sanctions

The French oil giant, Total, states that it was supposed to begin significant investments in Iran this summer, but this decision is now contingent on the U.S. refraining from imposing new sanctions against Tehran. According to Reuters, Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of Total, announced that the company has not yet made a final decision, and this matter depends on the absence of new U.S. sanctions against Iran. Donald Trump has been an opponent of this agreement and has repeatedly stated during his election campaign that it is the 'worst deal ever' and that he would tear it up if elected president. The U.S. President tweeted on February 3, stating: 'Iran was on its knees and about to collapse until the U.S. gave it a new lease on life through the nuclear deal: with $150 billion!' He was referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) reached last July between Tehran and six world powers, including the U.S., under which Iran halted many of its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. According to Reuters, Total was set to invest $2 billion in the development of Phase 11 of the South Pars gas field, and a memorandum of understanding was signed between Iran and this French company late last year. The goal of this project is to produce 50 million cubic meters of gas and 80,000 barrels of gas condensate daily from the only remaining phase of South Pars. 23 other phases of South Pars have either been developed or are under completion. Total also signed a memorandum with Iran to study the South Pars reservoir. South Pars, the largest gas field in the world, is jointly owned by Iran and Qatar. Qatar began developing this field 10 years earlier than Iran and has produced over 2.5 trillion cubic meters of gas from it. Iran has produced nearly 1 trillion cubic meters of gas from South Pars in total. One-third of the field is in Iranian waters, and its reserves constitute 14 trillion cubic meters, or 40% of Iran's total gas reserves. This field currently accounts for over 60% of Iran's gas production. Iran's problem is not only its Qatari competitor but also that the Iranian section of the field will face pressure decline by 2023, leading to a decrease in Iran's gas production. The Ministry of Oil has assigned the study of the field to Total to address this issue, and it is planned to install 20,000-ton oil production platforms (10 times the current platforms) in the phases of South Pars, with two to three massive compressors on each to increase the speed and amount of gas production. Reuters reported that Phase 11 of South Pars is one of several major projects Total wants to develop in Iran. Total is also a prominent company for developing the West Karun block, which includes the Azadegan, Yadavaran, and Yaran fields, with over 56 billion barrels of oil, all of which are shared with Iraq and are a priority for Iran in the development of oil fields. Patrick Pouyanné stated that it remains to be seen whether the U.S. will impose new sanctions against Iran by summer. He noted that there were two executive orders for the commencement of projects by this summer, which are currently suspended. The Total CEO added that the previous U.S. administration under Barack Obama had overlooked the cooperation of foreign companies with Iran by suspending sanctions. Mr. Pouyanné added that Total would need at least 18 months to reconsider entering Iran and investing again, and this entirely depends on whether Donald Trump, the new U.S. President, will impose new sanctions against Iran or not. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, stated in an interview published in the February 8 issue of the newspaper Etemad that Iran may face 'difficult days' regarding the JCPOA.