China and Total SA have signed a gas deal with Iran. The deal marks the first natural gas joint venture for Iran after the U.S. eased the sanctions it imposed on the country. The agreement is related to the 11^th phase of the offshore South Pars gas field.

Total SA will lead the consortium consisting of China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and Iran's Petropars.  Total SA will hold a 50.1 percent share while CNPC will hold a 30 percent share in the joint venture. The remaining share of the Iran gas deal will go to Petropars. The deal is expected to be worth nearly $6 billion.

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Total and CNPC signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Tehran on Tuesday. The final agreement is likely to be signed by early next year. According to the International Energy Agency, South Pars may contain up to 51tn cubic meters of gas. Total SA has previously worked in the region with Statoil of Norway.

The deal will pave the way for other international companies to invest in Iran. The country is looking to attract $200 billion worth of investments into its oil and gas sector.

Under the new investment model, Iran will permit foreign companies to have wider participation in the projects than were approved under its previous "buyback" model. However, international companies are still in the contemplative mode. Nureddin Wefati, Shell's head of media relations for the Middle East and North Africa, recently told CNBC, "It is much too early to discuss potential Shell investment in any project."

TagsIran, Total SA, China National Petroleum Corp.