Five more South Pars phases operational by summer

An Iranian deputy oil minister says the Islamic Republic will make six more phases of the huge South Pars gas field operational by summer 2016.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of phases 15 and 16 of South Pars gas field in Asaluyeh, southern Iran, on Monday, Roknoddin Javadi said onshore sections of South Pars phases 17 and 18 have reached full capacity now and they will be officially inaugurated once their offshore sections are also finished.

Phases 15 and 16 of South Pars gas field were inaugurated through an official ceremony attended by Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh.

According to Zanganeh, South Pars phases 15 and 16 were made operational through an investment of about USD 6 billion and are expected to yield 56.6 million cubic meters of gas per day.

The two phases will also produce 75,000 barrels per day of gas condensate plus 400 tonnes of sulfur.

Javadi, who is also managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), stated that in addition to phases 17 and 18, South Pars phases 19, 20, and 21 will be ready for inauguration before the forthcoming summer.

He added that if financial problems are resolved, the rest of South Pars gas field’s phases will become operational before the tenure of Iran's current administration is over.

Inauguration of new South Pars phase on Monday brought the number of the field’s phases producing gas to 17, with 12 more phases under development.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Javadi said South Pars gas field is now a major energy production hub in the country, which yields 420 million cubic meters of natural gas per day, thus playing a crucial part in supplying the country’s needed energy.

“After all phases of South Pars gas field are made operational, its output will be tantamount to 5.8 million barrels of oil per day and considering current oil prices, revenues from the field may even surpass Iran's oil revenues,” the official said.

NIOC’s managing director also stated that despite tough international sanctions imposed on the country in the past years, which prolonged implementation of the project, the two South Pars phases came online in less than a year through endeavors of domestic manpower.

The huge South Pars offshore gas field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are in Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 square kilometers are situated in Qatar’s territorial waters.

The field is estimated to contain a significant amount of natural gas, accounting for about eight percent of the world’s gas reserves, and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensate.

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