France-based energy giant Total is expected to finalize an agreement on the development of natural gas project South Pars Phase 11 in Iran in less than a month, a senior Iranian government official said.

Total will continue negotiating with Iran on a final agreement over the project," Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs Amirhossein Zamani-Nia was quoted as saying in the Iran Daily report, which cited ISNA.

"This will depend on how prepared Iran would be and how long it would take to write the text of the deal. I don't think it would take longer than a month,” he added.

Last November, Total signed a preliminary agreement, worth $4.8 billion to develop South Pars Phase 11 in cooperation with China's CNPC and Iran's Petropars.

Phase 11 aims to produce 1.8 billion cu ft of gas per day for the national grid, the report said.