SADRA to Deliver New SP Platforms

Operations to construct 10 offshore platforms for South Pars Gas Field phases in the Persian Gulf have gained momentum, the head of project control in Pars Oil and Gas Company said, with Iran Marine Industrial Company, also known as SADRA, set to deliver three platforms by March.

“SADRA is building 10 offshore platforms for phases 13, 14, 22, 23 and 24 of South Pars, of which three are expected to be delivered for installation by the end of the current fiscal [that started in March],” Hesameddin Amiri was also quoted as saying by the National Iranian Oil Company’s news portal on Wednesday.

Attaching special importance to boosting the pace of operations in South Pars, the official noted that each of the platforms will produce 14 million cubic meters of gas per day from South Pars, the world’s largest gas field shared between Iran and Qatar that covers an area of 3,700 square kilometers of Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.

Expressing satisfaction with the progress of the platforms, Amiri said, “If the allocated budget is injected into the initiative on time, the plan will be developed ahead of schedule.”

On financial commitments to contractors, Amiri said as per a directive issued by the board of directors in Pars Oil and Gas Company, endorsed by Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, all unpaid dues will be settled in the near future to give further impetus to the project.

“Limited access to financial resources can adversely affect the venture,” Amiri said, adding that if the debts are cleared on time, SADRA’s fabrication yard in southern Iran has the capacity to complete up to five platforms in this period.

Iran has embarked on diversifying its gas market on the back of increasing output from South Pars, a major natural gas deposit it shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf.  Government data show the country is producing 880 million cubic meters of gas daily, more than two-thirds of which come from South Pars.

Iran has close to 34 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, which is around 18% of the total global natural gas reserves.

Iran’s strategic location can help meet the growing gas demand of Asian countries like India, China and Pakistan, among others.

South Pars holds an estimated 40 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, or roughly 8% of the world’s reserves and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensates.

It adjoins Qatar’s North Field that spans over 6,000 square kilometers.