TEHRAN: France’s energy giant Total will start importing 160,000 barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil from Iran later this month, Iran’s petroleum minister says.
Bijan Zangeneh said an agreement, signed last month in Paris between National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Total, will take effect on February 16. “As per the contract signed between NIOC and Total, this French company will buy 160,000 b/d of Iranian crude oil,” the minister said.
He added that Total has shown willingness to develop Iran’s giant South Azadegan oil field, shared with neighboring Iraq, and to revive Iran LNG project for the production of supercooled gas. “Iran plans to provide this French company with necessary data for studies,” said Zangeneh.
Iran discovered Azadegan oil field in 1999 in what was the country’s biggest oil find in decades. The country accordingly teamed up with Japan’s Inpex to push the project toward development. However, the Japanese company quit the project as a result of US sanctions against Iran.
The NIOC later divided the project into South Azadegan and North Azadegan and both were awarded to China’s CNPC when Iran’s former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013) was in office. South Azadegan is believed to hold 33.2 billion barrels of oil in place, 5.2 billion barrels of which are recoverable.
