Investment up by 120% in Iran gas field

Investment in Iran’s South Pars gas field has hiked by 120 percent in the current Persian calendar year, a top Iranian energy official says.

Managing Director of Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) Ali Vakili told IRNA on Saturday that the boom was the result of the issuance of EUR 3 billion in foreign currency bonds and USD 3,014 billion in national participation bonds.

South Pars is the world’s largest gas field located in the Persian Gulf. It holds an estimated 50.97 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.

Vakili added that investment in South Pars had surpassed USD 11 billion.

“Due to accurate planning this year these will be no problems with regard to funding the South Pars project,” Vakili said.

This is while, the United Nations Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program on June 9 despite assurances from Tehran that its nuclear program is peaceful and under complete surveillance from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

While the US possesses and has used nuclear weapons in the past, Washington, in a politically-motivated move, has imposed unilateral sanctions against Iran, which does not possess nuclear weapons nor does it seek to develop such weapons.

Iran argues that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) it has the right to peaceful nuclear technology for civilian electricity generation and medical research.