Iran: China’s state-owned energy CNPC takes over French TO

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s official IRNA news agency is reporting that China’s state-owned petroleum corporation has taken a majority share of the country’s South Pars gas project after French oil and gas company Total announced it would pull out because renewed U.S. economic sanctions against Iran.

The Saturday report quotes Mohammad Mostafavi, an official in Iran’s state oil company, as saying CNPC now owns 80 per cent of the shares in the $5 billion project, having bought shares from Total.

CNPC originally had some 30 per cent of shares in the project.

The renewal of U.S. sanctions took effect on Tuesday.