China's state oil company has pulled out of a $5 billion deal to develop a portion of Iran's massive offshore natural gas field, the Islamic republic's oil minister said Sunday, an agreement from which France's Total SA earlier withdrew over US sanctions.
The South Pars field deal, struck in the wake of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, appears to be just the latest business casualty of America's pressure campaign on Tehran following US President Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal of the US from the deal.
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It also comes as China and the US engage in their own trade war, as Beijing and Washington levy billions of dollars of tariffs on each other's goods.
Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh, quoted by the ministry's Petroenergy Information Network (SHANA), said Sunday that the China National Petroleum Corp. was "no longer in the project." He did not elaborate or give any reason for the withdrawal, though SHANA said the company "had pulled out of a contract" to develop the field.
Officials in Beijing didn't immediately acknowledge their decision. Phone calls to the CNPC rang unanswered on Sunday and its website bore no mention of the withdrawal.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif separately complained Sunday about the US campaign against Tehran and its impact on foreign investments.
Zanganeh said earlier Sunday that Iran would use every possible method to export its oil, adding that exporting crude oil was the country's legitimate right.
"We will use every possible way to export our oil and we will not succumb to America's pressure because exporting oil is Iran's legitimate right," Zanganeh said. He added that Iran wanted better ties with regional countries.
Iran's crude oil exports were cut by more than 80% when the United States reimposed sanctions after Trump exited Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers last year.
In response, Iran has gradually scaled back its commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal, under which Tehran accepted to curb its nuclear activities in return for lifting most international sanctions.
Iran's Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) reiterated on Sunday that the country would reduce its commitments under the deal even further if the European parties to the pact did not meet promises to shield Iran's economy from US sanctions.
"We will go ahead with our plans to decrease our commitments to the nuclear deal if other parties fail to keep their promises," the Iranian Students News Agency quoted AEOI's spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying.
