French Energy Giant to Invest $1 Billion on Iran Gas Field<br />By THOMAS ERDBRINKJULY 2, 2017<br />TEHRAN — The French energy giant Total has agreed to invest $1 billion in Iran<br />to develop a huge offshore gas field, Iranian news media reported on Sunday.<br />Total is the first Western energy company to invest in a large infrastructure project in Iran since the nuclear agreement,<br />and analysts say they expect other European companies to follow.<br />The agreement, the largest by a Western energy company in Iran since the 2015 deal to curb Tehran’s nuclear program,<br />had been delayed in February as Total waited to see how the Trump administration’s policy toward Iran would proceed.<br />Total will take a 50 percent stake in the development of the 11th phase of the South Pars gas field, investing<br />$1 billion into the $4.8 billion project, the semiofficial Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.<br />President Trump has spoken out against the multilateral nuclear agreement,<br />and his antipathy toward the pact and talk of further sanctions has raised concerns among foreign energy firms looking to invest in Iran.<br />Total said that We are proud and honored to be the first international company to sign
