Iran poised to launch South Pars main phase

Iran is preparing to launch the main development phase of the supergiant offshore South Pars gas field in the coming weeks.

Phase 12 development of South Pars, which is jointly operated by Iran and Qatar, is forecast to earn the Islamic Republic $17.5 million a day in revenue from gas condensate sales.

The managing director of Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ) where the giant gas reservoir is located has said that full development of Phase 12 of South Pars would add 81 million cubic meters a day (mcm/d) of sweet gas to the country’s production.

Mehdi Yousefi added that this phase would also increase Iran’s gas condensate output by 120,000 b/d and sulfur production by 75 tons a day.

The development project, operated by Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC), was awarded in July 2005 to Petropars Limited under a buyback deal.

Yousefi said the startup of Phase 12 of South Pars would be the main achievement of Iran’s Petroleum Ministry at a time the country’s energy sector has been under international sanctions.

South Pars, divided into 29 development phases, holds 40 tcm of natural gas, or 21% of world’s total gas reserves, and 50 billion barrels of condensate.

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