Oil Minister: Phase 12 of South Pars Gas Field to Double Production Soon

Phase 12 of the South Pars gas field, the construction of which has witnessed a 95 percent growth, is now producing 14 million cubic meters (mcm) of natural gas per day and the figure will double by the month of Khordad (May 22 - June 21), Namdar Zanganeh said during a visit to the giant field in the southern port city of Assaluyeh by Iranian First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangir.

“When the second section of the phase comes on stream, the production of natural gas would be increased from 14 (mcm/d) to 28 (mcm/d),” the minister stated.

He also emphasized that only local experts have contributed to the development of the phase, and voiced his satisfaction with the construction process of the development phase.

Meantime, Managing-Director of Pars Oil and Gas Company, Ali Akbar Shabanpour, told reporters on the sidelines of the visit to the South Pars gas field that the new sections of the development phase will come on stream in the Iranian month of Khordad.

He also said that $6.9 billion has been invested for the development of Phase 12.

Earlier, upon his arrival at the Assaluyeh airport, Iranian First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri attached great importance to the ongoing projects in the South Pars gas field, and said development of the projects is high on the government's agenda.

The South Pars gas field, whose development has been divided into 24 phases, is located in the Persian Gulf straddling the maritime border between Iran and Qatar. It is estimated that the Iranian section of the field contains 14 trillion cubic meters of gas and 18 billion barrels of condensates in place.

South Pars is part of a wider gas field that is shared with Qatar. The larger field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are in Iran's territorial waters (South Pars) in the Persian Gulf.