Mehr News Agency reported that National Iranian Oil Company has warned Royal Dutch Shell and Repsol to submit their plans of action for the South Pars gas field and the Persian LNG projects in the next one and a half months otherwise they will be replaced by other qualified companies.

Mr Seyfollah Jashnsaz MD of NIOC said that in 2007 the two companies signed a USD 10 billion deal with NIOC to develop phases 13 and 14 of the South Pars field but have still not fulfilled their contractual obligations.

Mr Jashnsaz said “Total, which has signed a memorandum of understanding with NIOC to develop South Pars Phase 11, is wasting time, so we will be negotiating with a Chinese firm in Tehran next week over the project.”

Phase-2 of the South Pars project has been overshadowed by haggling over contract terms.

He expressed appreciation for the work of the Iranian company Petropars in developing South Pars Phase 12 and implementing the Iran LNG project and stated that the projects are well underway.

The gas field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers in the Persian Gulf, with 3,700 square kilometers in Iranian territorial waters and 6,000 square kilometers in Qatari territorial waters.

(Sourced from Mehr News Agency)