AP, Tehran :
Iran has signed a $5 billion agreement with France’s Total SA and a Chinese oil company to develop its massive offshore natural gas field, the first such deal with foreign companies since the landmark 2015 nuclear deal.
Officials signed the agreement in Tehran on Monday. The agreement will see the firms develop a portion of the massive South Pars offshore field, which Iran shares with Qatar.
Total has a 50.1-percent share in the deal. The state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. has 30-percent stake and Iran’s Petropars has 19.9 percent.
The deal includes 30 wells and two production units.
Officials anticipate the deal will see gas production increase to nearly 600 million cubic meters from the current 540 million cubic meters.
