Iran Terminates CNPC's Contract Over Gas Project Delay

Iran on Tuesday officially terminated the contract of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) over delay to fulfill obligations in the Azadegan gas field.

Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zanganeh had in February voiced the ministry's dissatisfaction over Chinese firm’s performance in the field and gave it three months to meet its obligations or face expulsion from the project, says Shana news agency.

“The performance of the Chinese company is not assessed as favorable and the necessary warnings for expropriation have been given to this contractor,” Zanganeh said.

Last August, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) replaced CNPC with the Iranian company, Petropars Ltd. (PPL), for the development of Phase 11 of the massive offshore South Pars gas field.