<span style="color: #222222;">Two Iranian companies have signed a 440-million Dollars agreement to develop a gas field in the sensitive Gulf.<br />'' <br />'' Iran's Oil Ministry said it showed the United States could not stop the country with sanctions.<br />'' <br />'' Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said today the deal reached between two government-owned firms, Pars Oil and Gas Company and PetroPars, to develop the Balal field, would be the first of many.<br />'' <br />'' He said, this is a sign that Tehran is still functioning with sanctions at their peak. He added that sanctions have not been able to stop the progress of the Iranian oil industry and its development.<br />'' <br />''<br />''The Balal gas field is located 90 kilometres south of Lavan island in the Gulf. The deal aims to reach a production rate of 500 million cubic feet of gas per day over a 34-month period. </span>