Grand Gas Project Signifies Futility of Anti-Iran Sanctions: President
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described the inauguration of the 12th development phase of the massive offshore South Pars gas field as a testimony to the ineffectiveness of the Western sanctions against Iran.
“The inauguration of the 12th phase illustrates that sanctions, pressures, and illegal and inhumane measures cannot push the (Iranian) nation back,” President Rouhani said in a Tuesday ceremony in the southern province of Bushehr for the official coming into service of the giant gas field’s 12th phase.
The president explained that Iran’s gas production now exceeds 100 million cubic meters, stressing that such a great job has been accomplished while the country has been slapped with the cruel sanctions.
Iran has also experienced economic growth and inflation reduction with the sanctions being in place, Rouhani added.
According to Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, the 12th phase, which has been totally designed and developed by the local experts, has cost more than $7.5 billion.
The 12th phase can produce 80 million cubic meters of gas and 120,000 barrels of gas condensates on a daily basis, bringing the country $17.5 million in revenue every day.
Zanganeh has also hailed the new phase as a helpful source of revenue while Iran is hit by “cruel economic sanctions” and the global oil price decline has diminished the country’s financial resources.
The 12th phase extends over an area of approximately 205 square kilometers along Iran-Qatar joint border. Located at a distance of 105 kilometers from the coast, the 12th phase alone contains about 5 percent of the whole gas reserves in the South Pars filed.
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.
