TEHRAN - Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Monday that France’s Total has officially withdrawn from South Pars gas deal, Iranian state TV reported.

“The process to replace (Total) with another company is underway,” Zanganeh said.

In December 2017 Reuters reported that China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is weighing taking over Total’s stake in Iran’s South Pars gas field project if the French company leaves to avoid possible U.S. sanctions.

Total signed a contract in 2017 to develop Phase 11 of South Pars field with an initial investment of $1 billion, marking the first major Western energy investment in the country after sanctions were lifted in 2016.

The company was pressured to leave Iran after the United States threatened to impose sanctions on companies that do business in the country.

EF/MA