A tender for developing Iran's largest oil field, Azadegan, has been delayed by another few months because energy companies need additional time to study the field, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Ali Kardor, was quoted as saying by ISNA news agency on June 21.

"The tender will not happen in this government because we have not signed memorandum of understandings with some companies and they need three to four months to study the field," Kardor reportedly said, referring to how Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who was re-elected in May, will not form his new government until August.

On June 20, Iran’s ambition to accelerate the exploitation of its massive hydrocarbon reserves was given a lift by Total’s decision to “risk” $1bn on developing part of the South Pars gas field - part of the world’s largest gas reservoir - despite the threat of renewed US economic sanctions hanging over Iran.

In contrast, the tender for developing the Azadegan oilfield is again not moving forward quickly having already been postponed several times for unspecified reasons. It was previously celebrated as Iran's first such tender since the early 2016 lifting of international sanctions in the wake of the multilateral nuclear deal.

Azadegan has an estimated 37bn barrels of oil and is shared with neighbouring Iraq. Located in southern Iran, 80km west of the Khuzestan provincial city of Ahvaz, it has been subject to technical surveys carried out by France’s Total, Malaysia's Petronas and Japan's Inpex.

The tender will be conducted under Iran’s new Iranian Petroleum Contract (IPC). It differs from its predecessor by offering the operator remuneration based on production rather than a simple percentage of development costs.