The only incomplete phase of the South Pars Gas Field in the Persian Gulf, Phase 11, will start production in September, the oil minister said.
Iranian experts and engineers are developing the phase that is expected to produce 19 million cubic meters of gas per day, Javad Owji was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
Phase 11 is the last of the 24 phases of the giant gas field, which has not been developed yet.
According to the minister, French Total S.A. was to work on the phase, but despite conducting studies, the company stopped working due to sanctions and the phase will soon become operational with the help of domestic companies.
Total had signed a $5 billion agreement in 2016 to develop SP Phase 11 as the head of a consortium that included China National Petroleum Corporation and Petropars.
After canceling the agreement to develop the field due to the US pressure and new sanctions that forced international firms to walk away from Iran in 2018, the French energy company submitted the project's documents to its partner, CNPC.
However, as the Chinese company did not take any measures to develop the phase, Petropars started work on the field by relying on domestic experts and knowhow.
About $85 million have been invested in the phase and when fully operational, it will produce 56.6 million cubic meters of gas per day plus 75,000 barrels of gas condensate. Gas will be transferred to onshore refineries in Asalouyeh and Kangan in Bushehr Province.
Phase 11 is considered the most complicated and complex project compared to other South Pars projects.
As the studies indicate, Phase 11 will experience substantial reduction in pressure three years after starting production, which will require an equipment upgrade to maintain the production level.
The company has been using parts and equipment produced by Iranian manufacturers and the services of domestic companies in various sectors, as it aims to enhance the country's technical and engineering capabilities.
Petropars was founded in 1998 to help develop the vast energy resources and is one of the leading contractors of upstream oil and gas projects. It has also been tasked with the development of the giant South Azadegan Oilfield in Khuzestan Province and Belal Gas Field off the Persian Gulf.
Huge Gas Field
South Pars Gas Field is spread over 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are in Iran’s territorial waters and the rest in Qatari waters.
With an estimated 14.2 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves in place and 18 billion barrels of gas condensate, the Iranian side of the field accounts for 40% of Iran’s total estimated 33.8 tcm of gas reserves and 60% of its gas production.
The cumulative output of natural gas and its byproducts from the South Pars Gas Field has surpassed 2 trillion cubic meters since 2002. Over $80 billion have been invested to develop SP in the past two decades.
Iran has generated more than $360 billion in revenues over the last 20 years by selling the gas field’s products, including gas condensates, natural gas and its derivatives.
The number of offshore wells and decks in the field stands at 336 and 39 respectively, which are linked to 13 onshore processing facilities via 3,200 kilometers of subsea pipelines.
Iran’s daily withdrawal from SP was 282 million cubic meters per day in 2013, which is now over 700 mcm/d.
The giant hydrocarbon field accounted for 10% of Iran’s gas production in 2002, which has now risen to 70%.
Iran holds the world’s second largest gas reserves after Russia. According to BP Statistical Review of World Energy, Iran has 34 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, or 18% of the world’s proven reserves.
