French oil major Total has two months to seek exemption from U.S. sanctions after Washington’s withdrawal from the international nuclear deal, Iran’s oil minister told state news agency SHANA on Wednesday. The minister, Bijan Zanganeh, added that failure to secure an exemption would mean that China’s state-owned CNPC could take over Total’s stake in the South Pars gas project, lifting its own interest from 30 percent to more than 80 percent. The United States this month said it would impose new sanctions against oil and gas producer Iran after abandoning the 2015 agreement that limited Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief. “Total has 60 days to negotiate with the U.S. government,” Zanganeh […]