Operations to develop South Pars Gas Complex in Bushehr Province are underway with the aim of enhancing gaseous products’ exports and storage, managing director of the gas complex said.
“SPGC is building not only facilities to store liquefied petroleum gas but also increasing loads to facilitate sulfur exports," Ahmad Bahoush was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news portal.
The under-construction structures and new gas sweetening trains will help the company raise its export of products ranging from ethane, butane, LPG and sulfur to gas condensates, he added.
“SPGC produced 253 million barrels of gas condensates in 2021,” he said, noting that output showed 7% or 16 million-barrel growth compared with the corresponding period of 2019 when production was around 237 million.
Over 650,000 barrels of gas condensate per day are supplied to Persian Gulf Star Refinery in Hormozgan Province and Nouri Petrochemical Complex in southern Bushehr Province as feedstock, he added.
He noted that close to 183 billion cubic meters of natural gas, 4.5 million tons of ethane, 1.7 million tons of butane and 2.7 million tons of propane were also processed in the complex during the period.
SPGC accounts for 73% and 92% of total natural gas and gas condensate output respectively in Iran.
"The share of fossil fuel in Iran's energy basket is 74%, of which 50% are produced by SPGC,” he added.
The official said South Pars accounts for 96% of liquefied petroleum gas, 100% of ethane and 55% of sulfur produced in Iran.
Data pertaining to 2018 show a rise in output of a variety of byproducts, namely ethane (42%), LPG (35%) and sulfur (35%), compared to the year before.
South Pars, the world's largest gas field shared by Iran and Qatar, was developed in 24 phases, of which 22 phases are operational and Phase 14 is undergoing completion. Phase 11 has not been developed yet.
The huge gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar, covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which (South Pars) are in Iran’s territorial waters and the rest (North Dome) is in Qatari waters. It is estimated to contain large deposits of natural gas, accounting for 8% of the world’s known reserves and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensates.
Bahoush noted that $78 billion have been invested to develop SP since 2002 when the field’s daily output was 32 million cubic meters and accounted for less than 10% of Iran’s gas requirements.
According to Alireza Hoqouqi, deputy director of the ninth refinery of SPGC, the facility is almost self-sufficient in the manufacture of equipment and parts used in the refinery.
“In this year's overhaul of the complex, relying on the knowhow, commitment and expertise of local manufacturers, we have achieved more than 90% self-sufficiency in supplying equipment and parts of fixed devices required in the facilities,” he said.
The refinery is the largest processing facility in the SP Gas Field in the city of Asalouyeh, Bushehr Province, processing 11% of Iran’s gas and supplying 16% of the total South Pars output.
The refinery is one of the 14 in Asalouyeh processing natural gas drawn from the giant SP Gas Field shared between Iran and Qatar.
