Iran’s oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said French oil major Total has two months to seek exemption from US sanctions, otherwise it would lose its stake in the South Pars gas project. “Total has 60 days to negotiate with the US government,” the minister said, according to state news agency SHANA, adding that the French government could also negotiate with Washington. Total signed a contract in 2017 to develop phase 11 of the South Pars field with an initial investment of $1 billion - a contract Tehran repeatedly hailed as a symbol of the nuclear deal’s success, according to Reuters. Based on the contract, Total has a 50.1 percent stake in the 20-year South Pars project, with China National Petroleum Corp. holding 30 percent and Iran’s Petropars, 19.9 percent. 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." He did not explain why the French firm had only 60 days, since US sanctions on foreign energy companies in Iran not due to kick in until November 4. Total was the only western firm to finalize an investment deal in Irans energy sector following the 2015 nuclear deal.