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- Third step: Iran officially informs EU of plan to expand nuclear R&D
- Iran expands nuclear R&D program: Rouhani
- Iran goes ahead in space tech, despite US sanctions: ISA
- Resistance Front undermining Israeli regime power: Top commander
- Iran: 7 crew members of detained UK ship freed
- US addiction to sanction threaten its power: Iran’s Zarif
- Dutch role in 2007 Stuxnet attack on Iran’s nuclear site under scrutiny: Iraian FM Spox.
- Iran: ‘Sustainable Security 2019’ kicks off in Caspian Sea
- Iran’s Zarif leaves Tehran for Moscow
- Shiraz University ranked 1st in liver transplantation: Iranian health official
- Japan’s Abe to meet Iran’s president to discuss easing tension in region
- Downing of US spy drone shattered war threats against Iran: Top IRGC commander
- IAEO head reports development of first ion-therapy hospital in west of Asia
- Iranian Taekwondo team wins 2019 World Cup championship
- US sanctions failed to force Iran to buckle: Report
- Crew fixing Iran oil tanker broken down in Red Sea
- As Iranians hold nerves, US seeks to scare off trade
- Leader expresses concern about Kashmir, urges India to follow fair policy toward Muslim-majority region
- Iran saffron exports down due to smuggling, government restrictions: Exporter
- Iran FM warns US against ‘serious miscalculation’ in Persian Gulf
- Iran’s resistance policy led to release of oil tanker: MP
- Iran in reverse brain drain as top students come home in rising numbers
- Iran official calls for compensation for tanker seizure
- Iran hails N Korea for standing against ‘unilateral’ US demands
- Shia Muslims celebrate Eid Al-Ghadir
- North Korea praises Iran’s anti-US struggle
- Zarif says to meet French president Friday
- Iranian court hearing case of UK oil tanker
- Over half of Japanese voters oppose joining US-led anti-Iran coalition in Persian Gulf: Poll
- IME trade ups by 21 percent in July
- Finland backs INSTEX in defiance of US
- US anti-Iran policy in high seas harms Europeans: LA Times
- Iran, China confer on Syria
- Iran, Finland share views on Persian Gulf dialogue forum: Zarif
- Iran warns US against seizure of oil tanker
- Iraq eager to benefit from Iranian Police’s experience
- Iran planning 3rd step to reduce nuclear commitments: Spokesman
- Leader grants clemency to over 1,000 Iranian inmates
- Registration for Arbaeen Pilgrimage to begin in Iran on Friday
- Iran, Iraq agree to reopen Khosravi border crossing
- Iran deplores suicide attack at Kabul wedding hall
- Iran to hold int'l hand-woven carpets expo
- Zarif meets with Iran-Kuwait Friendship Group members
- Adrian Darya oil tanker not under any sanctions, says Iran envoy
- ‘Iran to stay in nuclear deal as long as its interests are met’
- India envoy happy with positive trend of trade with Iran
- Iran’s annual export of white meat tops 2.5m tons: Minister
- Iranian scientist discovers new state of matter
- Iran, Japan diplomats discuss bilateral ties
- Iran, Ansarullah, European representatives Yemen developments
- ‘Iran to become self-sufficient in producing aircraft engines'
- US issues seizure warrant for Iranian supertanker 'Grace 1'
- Neanderthal tooth unearthed near Iran’s Zagros mountain
- Iran’s Zarif due in Kuwait on Saturday
- US faces humiliating defeat after Gibraltar releases Iranian tanker: Envoy
- Spokesman rejects claim on Iran’s commitment in exchange for tanker release
- Zarif reacts to release of Iranian tanker in Gibraltar
- Israel, UAE engaged in secret talks on Iran arranged by US: Report
- US threatens visa ban as Iranian-operated tanker sets to sail from Gibraltar
- Enemies must factor Iran's global power in their calculations: IRGC's chief commander
- Trump’s administration conflicting messages to Iran baffle go-betweens: Report
- Gibraltar releases Iran-operated tanker despite US pressure
TEHRAN, February 7 - Total’s work on the South Pars gas project is well on track despite US threats of new sanctions on Iran, the French oil and gas group’s Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Pouyanne told Le Monde newspaper on Tuesday that Total was consulting with French and European authorities over protecting its investments in Iran, in case there was a resumption of sanctions.
The company became the first major Western energy investor in Iran following the lifting of sanctions in January 2016. Total has a 50.1 percent stake in phase 11 of Iran’s South Pars, the world’s largest gas field, in a project worth $5 billion.
The project will have a production capacity of 2 billion cubic feet per day, or 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day including condensate, starting in 2021.
Iran’s Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh has said Total would lose all of its investment if it pulled out of the deal without the enforcement of UN Security Council sanctions.
President Donald Trump gave the Iran nuclear deal, negotiated before he took office, a final reprieve last month but warned European allies and US Congress they had to work with him to fix “the disastrous flaws” in the pact or face a US exit.
Trump wants tighter restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile program, vowing to stop waiving US nuclear sanctions on Iran unless the Europeans agree to the changes he demands.
'Real question'
Despite those threats, Pouyanne said the South Pars project is “progressing well, without delay, and (Total) continues to work, even if the situation with the American Congress is rather vague”.
He said if the Americans “decide to exit the nuclear agreement and if secondary sanctions return in place,” it would pose a “real question” for the French energy giant.
Total, he said, has been in discussions with French and European authorities about “means to protect investments already made in Iran, even in the case of the return of sanctions”.
Pouyanne was among the select group of European CEOs invited to dine with Trump at a special dinner on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Nine of the 15 companies represented at the dinner, including CEOs of Germany’s Siemens, Swedish-Swiss technology leader ABB and Swedish vehicle manufacturer Volvo, are currently active in Iran and a further five have had a historical presence in the market.
Europeans vs. Trump demands
Pouyanne said it was “up to European diplomats to consider these questions” about the possible sanctions in order to “clarify the horizon for European business working in Iran”.
Central to the future of the companies in Iran is how much latitude the Europeans give to Trump’s demands as regards the Islamic Republic.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Saturday that working groups from his country as well as France, Britain and Germany had already begun to meet on “what is the scope of what we attempt to address” and how much Iran needed to be engaged in it.
Iran dismissed the remarks as “dreams” in line with Washington’s “wrongful and age-old habit” but no European official has reacted to Tillerson’s comments yet.
Source: Presstv
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