Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Javad Oji announced that the country plans to double the capacity of its natural gas production in less than four years, reported Fars News Agency.
Oji reiterated that Iran plans to invest more than $38 billion in its gas projects by the end of the country's Fifth National Development Plan (2010-2015).
Earlier this month, an Iranian oil official had announced Tehran's plans to issue billions of euros in national bonds to finance development of the country's oil and gas projects, specially development projects in South Pars gas field.
"This year's first package of participation bonds is worth 2.7 billion euros and will be offered as of next week with the participation of three banks," Managing-Director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Ahmad Qalebani announced at the time.
Qalebani also noted that the Oil Ministry is scheduled to sell 8.7 billion euros in bonds by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (ending March 20, 2012) and that the "major portion of the bonds will be allocated for the development of the South Pars gas field."
South Pars covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which (i.e. South Pars) are in Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 square kilometers (i.e. North Dome) are in Qatar's territorial waters.
The South Pars field has 14 trillion cubic meters of natural gas - about eight percent of the world's reserves - and more than 18 billion barrels of liquefied natural gas resources.