Gas condensates exported from South Pars Gas Field in the Persian Gulf during the first three months of the current fiscal year (to June 21) exceeded 3.21 million tons, the head of customs at Pars Special Economic Energy Zone said.
"The value of gas condensates shipped from PSEEZ's customs stood at $2.21 billion, indicating a 39% increase compared with the same period of last year," Ahmad Pourheidar was also quoted as saying by IRNA on Saturday.
The official said the rising trend of exports is expected to continue, as new phases of South Pars come on stream.
South Pars is the world's largest gas field shared between Iran and Qatar. The giant deposit, which is being developed in 24 phases, provides about two-thirds of Iran's natural gas output.
The field holds an estimated 51 trillion cubic meters of gas and 50 billion barrels of gas condensate.
Iran's condensate output is slated to reach 1 million barrels a day upon the launch of all phases. But Tehran has said it wants to reduce the outbound shipments of condensates and instead use fossil fuel for manufacturing goods with higher value added.
Non-Oil Exports
Pourheidar described the zone's total exports, including non-oil products, as satisfactory.
"PSEEZ's total exports in the three months experienced a 31% jump," he said.
According to the official, during this period, besides the condensates, 4.27 million tons of crude and non-oil commodities, including methanol, propane, polyethylene, sulfur, urea, styrene and ammonia, were shipped to international markets.
"The exports of these goods amounted to $2.2 billion," he said.
On the main destinations of Iranian exports, the official said the commodities are mostly sent to Asian countries like China, Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Turkey, the UAE, Kuwait and Egypt.
Tehran is gradually raising its market share in the world’s biggest oil and petrochemical consuming nations like India.
PSEEZ Imports
According to the official, the South Pars zone imported over 61,962 tons of goods worth $417.58 million during the three-month period.
"The goods include refinery equipment and chemicals used in petrochemical complexes and South Pars phases," he said.
Pourheidar noted that the zone's imports registered a 51% hike compared with the similar period of last year.
PSEEZ was established in 1998 in Bushehr Province, which includes Asalouyeh, utilizes South Pars oil and gas resources, and promotes commercial activities in oil, gas and petrochemical industries.
Some 16 petrochemical complexes are active in Asalouyeh with an annual output of 20 million tons. Most of the zone's products are exported.
Located 570 kilometers west of the port city of Bandar Abbas, PSEEZ is one of the major petrochemical hubs of the country.
