China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC, 中國石油天然氣) is no longer a partner in Iran’s biggest natural gas project, and the Persian Gulf nation will develop Phase 11 of the giant South Pars field on its own, Iranian Minister of Oil Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said.
CNPC was the only international partner left in the project, after Total SA of France withdrew last year when US President Donald Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear accord and reimposed sanctions on Iran.
Phase 11 was the biggest infrastructure development project with major foreign participants that Tehran arranged after the accord took effect.
Photo: AP
The Chinese company was “dismissed” from the project, Zanganeh said, according to the ministry’s Shana news service in a report that gave no explanation for the dismissal.
Iran’s Petropars Ltd would take over CNPC’s stake and be sole participant in Phase 11, he said.
A CNPC spokesman in Beijing did not immediately reply to phone calls and a text message request for comment yesterday, a national holiday in China.
Iran had awarded Total, CNPC and Petropars a contract in July 2017 to develop Phase 11 of South Pars, its part of the world’s largest offshore gas field.
Total, which initially held a 50.1 percent stake, pulled out in August last year. CNPC had a 30 percent share in the project, while Petropars held 19.9 percent.
“We had intended to attract foreign capital for developing the project,” Zanganeh said. “Petropars was supposed to learn from other companies in the consortium.”
International energy companies have been reluctant to work in Iran since the US reimposed curbs on the country, due to their concerns that Washington might blacklist them for engaging with the Islamic Republic.
China remains one of the biggest buyers of Iran crude oil, in spite of US sanctions.
Phase 11 would produce 14.16 million cubic meters a day of gas by March next year, Zanganeh said on Sunday, suggesting that the project is ahead of schedule.
It was due to start up in 2021, according to a statement Total issued when it was awarded the development contract.
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia
RSS