Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 30/ Trend G.Mehdi/
Iran will start developing phases 15 and 16 of the South Pars gas field, which is shared with Qatar in the Persian Gulf, the Shana News Agency quoted Deputy Oil Minister Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr as saying.
He added that 55 oil industry projects will be completed by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2013) at the cost of $21.5 billion.
Managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) has said Iran can earn $8 billion in revenue from every phase of the South Pars gas field.
Mousa Soori noted that the gas field accounts for eight percent of the global gas reserves, adding that the development of every one of the 24 phases of the gas field can cause a one-percent growth in the national economy.
Iran is currently producing 300 million cubic meters of gas per day from the South Pars.
The country, which owns the world's second largest natural gas reserves after Russia, has been trying to enhance its gas production by increasing foreign and domestic investments, especially in the South Pars gas field.
The South Pars gas field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are in Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 square kilometers, i.e. North Dome, are in Qatar's territorial waters.
The Iranian gas field contains 14 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, about eight percent of the world's reserves, and more than 18 billion barrels of LNG resources.