Phase 15 of the South Pars gas field has gone into operation, and sour gas extraction commenced therein, IRNA quoted the executive manager of Phases 15 and 16 as saying on Saturday.
In the first stage, 12.7 million cubic meters of sour gas will be produced and transferred to the phase's refineries, Reza Foroozesh said. The refinery injects more than 31.5 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) of sweet gas into the national gas network. Production is expected to reach 10 mcm/d in the coming weeks.
Developments at Phases 15 and 16 are aimed at producing 56.6 mcm/d of natural gas, 75,000 barrels of gas condensates, and 400 tons of sulfur per day. There are also plans for annual production of one million ton of liquefied gas (propane and butane) and ethane as feedstock for refineries.
A consortium of Iranian companies, headed by Aria Naft Shahab Co., is operating the offshore and onshore development project.
Currently, South Pars output, standing at 300 mcm/d, supplies around 72 percent of the country's total gas consumption. Additionally, the giant gas field's output is projected to increase 100 mcm/d by yearend, of which 75 mcm has been fulfilled. Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has said that the 100-mcm target would be reached by March.
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.
The field has a capacity of producing 820 mcm/d and 1 mcm/d of gas and gas condensates, respectively.
