The construction of offshore processing platforms of the South Pars gas field phases 17 and 18 will be carried out by the Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IOEC), the company’s managing director said, Shana news agency reported Monday.
Gholamreza Manuchehri said four gas processing platforms - each with capacity to produce approximately 14 million cubic meters of gas – are planned to be built in phases 17 and 18.
The construction of platforms was initially allocated to the Iran Marine Industrial Company (SADRA) which specializes in building ships, docks and floating oil rigs, and it has so far installed the platforms’ decks, Manuchehri said. He added that “the IOEC will be in charge of the project” following preliminary agreements with local officials.
He ruled out the completion of platforms in the present Iranian year (ends March 2016), but stressed that they will be launched by winter 2016.
Phases 17 and 18 of the SP gas field in the Persian Gulf are slated to produce 50 mcm of natural gas and 80,000 barrels of gas condensate per day, as well as one million tons of ethane, more than one million tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and 400 tons of sulphur per annum.
Earlier oil ministry officials had said the two phases will be officially launched this year and will generate $5 million dollars a day. In addition, 60 percent of the equipment and facilities in phases 17 and 18 have been built by domestic manufacturers.
The Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO) is also part of the phases 17 and 18 development plan.
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.
