Iran plans to sign a $1.16 billion agreement with the U.K.’s Pergas Resources International Ltd. to work on a southern oil field, marking the Persian Gulf nation’s first energy venture with a foreign company since U.S. President Donald Trump ripped up the Iran nuclear deal.
London-based Pergas and state-run National Iranian South Oil Co. will sign a “heads of agreement” to develop the Karanj oil field in Khuzestan province, the National Iranian Oil Co. said. A ceremony is planned in Tehran on Wednesday evening, with Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh scheduled to attend, it said. Pergas provides oil and procurement services in the oil and gas industries.
Financing will not be coming from any U.S. company or any U.S. affiliated company or any company that is involved in the U.S., said Clint Elgar, chief executive officer of Pergas. The proposed agreement is for 10 years, he said. Pergas currently has 10 projects in the Middle East, with three in Iran, he said.