© Caren Firouz / Reuters
"The possibility of Total's pullout is quite high now, and in that scenario CNPC will be ready to take it over fully," the news agency quotes its industry source as saying.
"CNPC foresaw a high probability of a re-imposition of US sanctions," another source said.
The South Pars field is the world's biggest natural gas reserves ever found in one place. Total has a 50.1 percent stake in the project that develops phase 11 of the South Pars, while China has 30 percent with the remaining shares belonging to Iranian national oil company subsidiary PetroPars.
At the current gas prices, the entire reserves of the South Pars can be estimated at around $2.9 trillion. Iran shares the field with Qatar. Total signed a deal with Iran in July 2017 to develop phase 11 of the gas field with an initial investment of $1 billion. The French company was the first Western firm to invest into Iran's energy sector after the 2015 nuclear deal.
In March, Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné said the company would seek a waiver to continue the development of the gas field if the US decided to reimpose sanctions.
Comment: Idealogical sanctions which the international political and business community can not agree upon won't work, as has been the case with Russia, and will only continue the downward spiral of the Western economies:
- American Energy Dominance And The Rise of The Petro-Yuan
- China's Xi to Trump: 'Arrogance will get you nowhere' - "peaceful development and cooperation" are key
- Russia holds top spot for oil supply to China, doubles exports in six years
- Russia bypasses US oil war, signs billion dollar deals with Saudi Arabia
- How Russia could crash oil prices in 10 days
- Russia and Iran drop dollar trade by extending oil-for-goods agreement - Iran may enter EEU within months
- The petro-yuan and gold: Dollar's 70-Year dominance dying slow death
Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Trump Wags the Iran Riot Dog, Kim Talks Korean Peace