Oh no, he'll invoke the dreaded European allies. I'll bet the mullahs are shaking in their boots - NOT.
If Iran rejected this proposal, Kerry would ensure European allies were prepared to join the United States in imposing strict sanctions against Iran, Edwards said.
Strict sanctions would require Total to shut down its LNG production projects in the Iranian Gulf. It'd never happen. Hell, France is protecting Sudan from sanctions over its genocide of blacks right now for the same reason.
Iran has decided to award the French oil giant Total a Euro 1 bn contract to develop phase 11 of the big South Pars offshore gas field, according to Mahdi Mirmoezi, the republic’s deputy oil minister.
"The final negotiations are in progress, and unless there is a problem, the contract will be signed in one or two months", he said.
British Petroleum (BP), Italy’s ENI and Norway’s Statoil had also been competing for the contract. But Total is believed to have benefited from its already strong presence in Iran, including in the field of LNG. Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh had already voiced his desire to see a company deeply engaged in LNG operations get the deal, so as to facilitate exports.
Gas from phase 11 is earmarked for European markets. In 1997, Total was awarded buyback contracts for phases 2 and 3.
Under the Iranian constitution, foreign companies are not allowed to take an equity stake in any national oil and gas projects, but can participate under a buyback scheme enabling them to invest and later receive a portion of sales. Aside from South Pars, Total is engaged in the Sirri A and E oil fields, which began producing in 1998-99, and the already exploited Dorood and Balal fields.
In February, Total -- together with Malaysia’s Petronas and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) -- won a Euro 1.6 bn contract for an LNG plant at South Pars. Under that contract, Total and Petronas are bound to find LNG buyers -- a process the deputy minister said would take seven or eight months. Pending exports, its production will serve the expanding domestic market.
South Pars is the Iranian sector of the world’s largest natural gas field, situated in the Gulf and shared with Qatar.
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