TEHRAN- French oil major Total plans to conclude the Iran South Pars gas deal before summer, its chief executive Patrick Pouyanne told journalists on the sidelines of the company's annual general meeting.

Pouyanne said the signing of U.S. sanctions waivers, among other hurdles, cleared the path for the deal to be signed, Reuters reported.

Total said earlier in February that a final decision on the deal hinged on the new U.S. administration renewing the waivers.

The French giant signed a deal with National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for the phase 11 of developing South Pars gas field (Iran shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf), becoming the first western energy company to sign a major deal with Tehran since the lifting of international sanctions in January 2016.

The phase 11 project will progress in two stages, the first costing an estimated $2 billion, Total said. The produced gas will be fed into Iran's gas network.

The French company has already played a key role in Iran's energy industry, including the development of phases 2 and 3 of South Pars in the 2000s, before pulling out of the country after international sanctions were imposed in 2010.

MA/MG