Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.29
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Reducing condensate output because of work on Iran’s South Pars ought not to affect exports of crude or petroleum products, as they are not necessarily connected, Fenner Stewart, Director of Midwest Center for Energy Law & Policy, assistant professor, University of Calgary told Trend.
He pointed out that South Pars represents about 8 percent of total world gas reserves and about 40 percent of it is Iran’s.
“Iran is the second largest gas producer, accounting for about 18 percent of global supply in 2015. Iran has the capacity to produce more from other fields presently, and is projected to produce more in the future,” said Stewart.
The expert recalled that in 2016, Iran exported 8.567 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
“The top export markets for Iran are China, India, Japan, South Korea and Turkey in 2015. So, reduction of condensate exports could result in a hike in natural gas prices for any of these countries. However, there is more than enough natural gas globally to meet so short-term reduction in natural gas from Iran,” he added.
Sources earlier said Iranian exports of ultra-light crude oil known as condensate are set to fall to a five-month low in October, with supplies to its largest buyer South Korea cut in half.
That comes after six industry sources said that the National Iranian Oil Company has informed buyers in Asia that it could reduce condensate exports in October due to maintenance at the South Pars gas field.
Iran plans to load about 295,000 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate for exports in October, down 31 percent from an estimated 429,000 bpd this month.
South Pars is part of a huge offshore field, shared with Qatar in the Persian Gulf. The field is estimated to hold about 8 percent of the world’s natural gas reserves.
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