Measures have been taken to provide adequate fuel to different sectors in winter, the oil minister said.
“All those who are involved in the fields of oil, gas, refining and distribution have taken short- and long-term measures regarding the supply of winter fuel this year. We hope that with these plans, there will be no shortage during the cold season and the required fuel can be provided for households, industries and power plants, as well as the transportation sector,” Javad Owji was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Major repairs have been carried out in various parts of the oil industry, gas transmission lines and pressure boosting stations, he added.
The minister noted that more than 70% of the country's energy needs are met by gas.
In the summer, about 160 million cubic meters of gas are consumed per day, but the figure reaches 700 mcm a day, which means that gas consumption in the cold season rises by about four times in the hot season.
“Since the priority during winter is to supply gas to households, the gas delivered to power plants as well as cement and steel factories reduces in the last three months of the year. The National Iranian Oil Products Distribution Company has taken measures to supply them with sufficient liquid fuel so that they can continue their operations,” Owji said.
“Natural gas comprises more than 83% of fuel for power plants in Iran. This is while the figure is 23% globally. We see a 6% annual growth in gas consumption in the household sector, 5% in the industrial sector and 4% in the power plants. And in all these sectors, the volume of gas consumption in the country is higher than the world average.”
According to the minister, 75% of the country's gas are supplied from the giant South Pars Gas Field, 20% from other gas fields and 5% from oil regions. It was stipulated that by the end of Iran’s Sixth Five-Year Development Plan (201-22), gas production would reach 1.3 billion cubic meters per day but the figure was 850 mcm/d at the end of last year.
Owji explained that the reason for not realizing the plan target was lack of investment for the development of gas fields in the past few years, stressing that since last year the Oil Ministry has been making efforts to increase the gas output capacity.
Last year, about 25 mcm were added to the country's daily gas output and the production capacity will rise further by the end of the current Iranian year (March 2023).
South Pars Output Rising
The first platform of South Pars Phase 11 start producing 14 mcm of gas per day and the Phase 14 refinery will also come on stream by the yearend, Owji said.
Phase 11 is the only one among the 24 phases of the giant joint field in the Persian Gulf, which has not been developed yet. Iran shares the field with Qatar.
The Phase 11 project includes the construction and installation of the jacket and topside of the phase, drilling 12 wells and laying pipes on the seabed from the phase’s platforms to onshore refineries.
When fully operational, the phase 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 14 refinery is being constructed in Asalouyeh, Bushehr Province. It is expected to be completed at a cost of $2.5 billion.
The development of the refinery has made over 90% progress and efforts are underway to launch its first sweetening train as soon as possible.
With the completion of the refinery, the development of the world's largest gas field in Iran, which holds 8% of the world’s natural gas reserves and about 18 billion barrels of gas condensate, would conclude after more than two decades.
The offshore section of Phase 14 is complete and all the platforms are functioning. It has four platforms, each with a production capacity of 14 mcm of gas per day.
Because the new refinery is still under construction, sour gas from the phase is supplied to refineries in phases 12 and 19.
