Iran Postpones Inauguration of Two South Pars Phases

The inauguration of phases 15 and 16 of Iran’s South Pars gas field, which was set to be on December 20, has been postponed, Tasnim news agency reported.

In July 2006, the National Iranian Oil Company signed a deal with two domestic contractors, namely Khatamol Anbiya and Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company to develop the onshore and offshore sections of the project, respectively.

Due to sanctions against Khatamol Anbiya, Arya Naft Shahab replaced it in 2010.

The development of phases 15 and 16 aims at producing 50 million cubic meters of sweetened gas to be supplied to residential, commercial, and industrial units, as well as producing 80,000 barrels of gas condensates to be supplied to refineries, and 400 tons of sulfur to be exported to international markets.

Iran has started early gas production from these phases since late 2014, producing 20 mcm/d of gas and this volume would reach full capacity (50 mcm/d) next week.

Moreover, 1.05 tons of LPG (propane and butane) and one million ton of ethane are projected to be produced.

Once the two phases become fully operational, they will generate six billion dollars for the country annually.

South Pars is divided into 29 development phases and contains 40 trillion cubic metres (tcm) of natural gas. It covers an area of 9,700 square kilometres, of which 3,700 square kilometres are in Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 square kilometres are situated in Qatar’s territorial waters. The gas field is estimated to contain about 8% of the world’s reserves, and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensate.

Currently Iran produces about 700 mcm per day of enriched gas and plans to increase raw gas production to 1,100 mcm per day by late 2018.