SHANA -- The CEO of Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) said China’s CNPC International had not announced its exit from a contract with NIOC to develop phase 11 of South Pars gas field.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Mohammad Meshkinfam said the Chinese company had not so far officially announced it would pull out of the project.

Last June, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) signed a contract with a consortium of France’s Total, China’s CNPC International and Petropars to develop phase 11 of the supergiant gas field in Persian Gulf waters.

Total abandoned the deal as a result of US-imposed sanctions on Tehran.