Construction of a fourth offshore platform for the South Pars Phase 12 has been postponed to next Iranian year (starting March 21), Tasnim news agency reported Sunday.
So far, three such platforms have been installed on the same phase for extraction of up to 81 million cubic meters of sour gas, planning and control manager of Pars Oil & Gas Company, Morteza Elahi stated. "The oil ministry has prioritized full exploitation of these platforms," he said, asserting that a fourth rig is needed to be built next year to enhance Phase 12 output.
POGC excavation team is currently busy drilling exploratory wells to locate the most suitable site for placing the new platform for Phase 12, Elahi announced.
Industry experts expect that further pressure reductions of the South Pars Phase 12 reservoir in the coming years will reach full production from present platforms, indicating the need for a new platform on the giant gas field.
The reservoir's pressure was a lot higher when the first contract for development of the phase was signed nine years ago. Qatar's excessive gas extraction from the field has reduced the field's pressure to a great extent, according to a report published by Tasnim news agency.
Further lowering of the pressure will affect production from the three currently operating platforms, and thus construction of a fourth platform is being planned, the report quoted a group of engineers working on the project as saying.
Phase 12 has three platforms of which platform A and B are currently producing 56.6 mcm/d. Platform C is due commissioning by February. Once fully operational, Phase 12 will have 75 mcm/d of sweet gas to pump into the national gas network.
Installation of a fourth platform will also increase extraction capacity of the field, by presenting additional potentials currently obscured in underlying layers, the report said.
With a physical progress of 96 percent so far, phase 12 is one of the several phases of the South Pars gas field prioritized for production of gas and other products. The onshore and offshore sections and the drilling of the phase have recorded progress of 97, 99, and 93 percent, respectively.
Phase 12 is South Pars’ biggest phase in terms of the volume of activities as well as investment and production level. The field is estimated to contain 14 trillion cubic meters of gas and 18 billion barrels of gas condensates.
