Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 9
By Khalid Kazimov - Trend:
Director of the 17th and 18th phases of Iran's South Pars gas field Hassan Boyeri said that the production of gas in these phases has become stable and that as platform A17's torch has been lit, the platform is prepared to send gas onshore.
He noted that in case the weather is favorable next week, the feed to the two phases will increase, leading to the phases' sweet gas output surge to 20 mcm/d.
"Right now 2 sweetening rows out of four are operational in the refinery with a total output of 18 mcm/d," he stated, SHANA news agency reported Mar. 9.
He asserted that operational services, refinery processes, as well as the transfer of products are carried out in keeping with international standards and with the best quality available.
The official further said that as the gas flow has been stabilized, the working teams have focused their efforts on finishing the remaining two sweetening rows.
The implementation of 2.5 million-inch diameter pipeline, 35,000 square meters of non-industrial buildings, 50,000 metric tons of metal structures, and 6,000 kilometers of cabling and precision devices installation are part of the work done in phases 17 and 18.
Meanwhile, 90 percent of the engineering, 100 percent of the operational tasks, and 50 percent of the materials used in these phases came from local companies and contractors.
When completed, the 17th and 18th phases are aimed to produce 50 million cubic meters of gas, 80,000 barrels of gas condensate, and 400 metric tons of sulfur a day.
The project started in 2007 and the previous Iranian administration was supposed to accomplish it by 2013, but it failed to do this.
Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that the country plans to pump up natural gas production at South Pars gas field by 100 million cubic meters per day by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2014).
South Pars 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 are situated in Qatar's territorial waters.
The gas field is estimated to hold a significant amount of natural gas, accounting for about eight percent of the world's reserves, and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensate.