Iran expects to sign gas deal with Total "within weeks"June 17, 2017 - 17:19 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran expects to sign a long-delayed gas deal with French oil major Total in the next few weeks, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying on Saturday, June 17, according to Reuters. "Iran and Total are summing up the discussions on signing the contract for the development of phase 11 of South Pars, and this is almost in the final stages," said Zanganeh, quoted by the oil ministry's news website SHANA. "The contract ... will be signed before the end of the (current) government," Zanganeh said. Re-elected in May, President Hassan Rouhani is expected to form his new cabinet in August. Total's chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said in late May that the company planned to conclude the South Pars gas deal before summer. Separately, the state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said it had certified five more companies from Russia and Azerbaijan to bid for Iranian upstream energy projects. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. Baku: EU, U.S. share responsibility for Armenia’s “destabilizing actions” Azerbaijan has declared that the European Union and the United States will share responsibility for any destabilizing actions of Armenia Armenia to sing in 2nd semi-final of Eurovision The organizers of Eurovision 2024 have revealed the running order of the countries in the two semi-finals. Azerbaijan accuses Armenia of arming Karabakh after 2020 Azerbaijan has accused Armenia of “illegally transported ammunition” to Nagorno-Karabakh after the November 9 statement. |