A top Iranian official said that French energy giant Total will have no 'active role' in developing a huge gasfield in Iran and that a new partner had been found for the project.

Total and Iran's National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) were to develop phase 11 of the offshore South Pars gasfield in the Gulf, according to our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News.

'Total has declared in talks with NIOC that because of sanctions against Iran it cannot have an active role in the project and so a partner has been chosen to transfer the company's stake to,' NIOC managing director Seyfollah Jashnsaz said.

He did not name the new company and also did not say whether Total is pulling out of the project completely.

Jashnsaz said that Total and Iran were set to sign the deal by March 20 to develop the gasfield.