Iran to Inaugurate Two New South Pars Phases Next Year

Iran is aiming to inaugurate two new phases of the South Pars gas field in the next Iranian calendar year which begins on March 21, 2015, says Fars News Agency.

Country’s Deputy Oil Minister Seyed Emad Hosseini on Friday said that given the progress of phases 20 and 21 of the gas field, production will begin ahead of schedule during next year’s first half.

The minister added that development of the two phases has progressed about 70 percent with offshore development being ahead of onshore operations, reports Fars News.

South Pars covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are in Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 square kilometers are situated in Qatar’s territorial waters.

The gas field is estimated to contain a significant amount of natural gas, accounting for about eight percent of the world’s reserves, and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensate.