IRNA � Iran Minister of Petroleum said on Wednesday that the process of tender for developing Azadegan oil field had begun.

'Some verified companies have been invited,' Bijan Zangeneh said, referring to the foreign companies taking part in Azadegan field tender.

The minister also said that in the contract signed by the French oil giant Total for developing phase 11 of the South Pars field, some measures have been taken to ensure that the contract would be held for 20 years.

He described the contract as a foreign one, in terms of law and investment, saying that Iran enemies aimed to prevent any foreign investment in the country, but the great move was done by two oil giants, namely French Total and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

Total signed the first contract since the sanctions against Iran were lifted after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015. The 4.8 billion dollar contract was inked in July 3 in Tehran.

With full implementation of the contract, 56 million square meters would be added to Iran�s production in the South Pars oil and gas field that the country shares with Qatar.