Production of ethane and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will commence in the South Pars gas field phases 15 and 16 by September, managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) said, IRIB reported Sunday.
"The funding and launch of South Pars phases 15 and 16 refineries within the next six months is one of the POGC priorities," Ali Akbar Shabanpour announced.
The development of phases 17 and 18 is also underway with the capacity to produce one million tons of ethane, more than one million tons of LPG annually, 50 million cubic meters of natural gas in addition to 80,000 barrels of gas condensate per day. According to estimates, annual production of ethane and polyethylene from SP phases 15-18 is projected to rise by 1.5 million tons by the end of the year (March 2016). The official also reiterated the completion of Phase 14 – having the lowest physical progress among SP phases – is not on the cards; nonetheless, the development of Phases 17 and 18 will increase gas output.
A consortium of Iranian companies are working on the two phases, including the Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IOEC), the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization (IDRO) and the Iran Marine Industrial Company (SADRA) which specializes in building ships, docks and floating oil rigs.
South Pars is the world's largest gas field, shared between Iran and Qatar, covering an area of 3,700 square kilometers of Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. It adjoins Qatar’s North Field, which measures 6,000 square kilometers.
