The story: The Iranian government has signed a 20B USD accord with four local companies to forge ahead with a key project at the world’s largest gas field. The aim is to enhance the pumping pressure to enable greater extraction from the offshore South Pars field, which is shared with Qatar.

The accord has raised eyebrows since enhancing pressure in the gas field is a key component of a 2022 memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with Russia’s Gazprom.

The coverage: The Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC), a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), signed the agreement with...