Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 27/ Trend M. Moezzi
As Iran tries to speed up the development of its South Pars gas and oil field, a new company has been named as the head of the consortium working on two phases of the Persian Gulf field, Pana news agency reports.
Last year, the Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters stepped aside from taking the lead on developing Phases 15 and16 of the South Pars gas and oil field. The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) then named the Iran Shipbuilding & Offshore Industries Complex Co. (ISOICO) as the head of the consortium for the project. At present, ISOICO has been replaced by Arya Naft Shahab to move a $5 billion development project forward.
When South Pars Phases 15 and 16 are finished, they are projected to produce 50 million cubic meters of natural gas a day, 80,000 barrels of gas condensate and 400 tons of sulfur. More than a million tons of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) will be drawn from the field once the phases are done.
Recently, Iran's oil ministry reported that more than 80 percent of the work on Phases 15 and 16 was finished.
Iran and Qatar share the 9,700 square kilometer South Pars gas and oil field. Qatar, however, is far ahead of Iran in exploiting the field's resources. It has intensified developing South Pars while Iran suffers international sanctions, technical and financial obstacles.