South Pars Phase 11 not to be ceded to foreign investors within IPC framework
The development of Phase 11 of the South Pars gas field will not to be ceded to foreign investors within the framework Iran’s new model of oil contracts, known as Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC).
A general tender will be held for transferring the project to contractors, Shana news agency reported on November 29.
Phase 11 is projected to produce 56 million cubic meters of natural gas, 80,000 barrels of gas condensates and 400 million tons of sulfur on a daily basis.
France's Total was dismissed from Phase 11 in 2009. Then the project was awarded to China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). In July 2012, CNPC also pulled out of the project.
Eventually in 2013, a deal was signed with the Iranian company Petropars in this regard.
South Pars, divided into 29 development phases, contains 40 trillion cubic meters (tcm) of natural gas. It covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, of which 3,700 square kilometers 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 about 8 percent of the world’s reserves, and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensate.
Currently Iran produces about 700 mcm/d of enriched gas and plans to increase the raw gas production to 1,100 mcm/d by late 2018.