China's state oil company has pulled out of a $5bn deal to develop a portion of Iran's massive offshore natural gas field, the Islamic republic's oil minister said on Sunday, an agreement from which France's Total SA earlier withdrew over US sanctions.
Amid the recent row between Iran and the US over new sanctions, an Iranian expert believes that the presence of oil giants such as Total and Shell on Iran's market has political significance; Trend reported.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA will sign initial agreements on Wednesday to develop oil and gas fields in Iran.
President of Middle-East & North-Africa Total Exploration & Production, Stephane Michel, said on Saturday that oil giants are in competition to come back to Iranian market.
Iran is in talks with Mitsui & Co. Ltd. and Total SA as part of its push to attract $60 billion in foreign investment to more than double the country’s capacity to produce petrochemicals over the next decade, Bloomberg reported July 21.
