Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 30 / Trend F.Milad/
Seven phases of the South Pars gas field will certainly come on stream and start early production in the next calendar year, which starts on March 21, 2012, the National Iranian Oil Company's (NIOC) managing director stated.
The phase 12 (equivalent to three phases), and the phases 15, 16, 17, and 18 development plans have progressed by around 60 percent, the NIOC head Ahmad Qalebani told the Mehr news agency.
Oil minister Rostam Qasemi has ordered all the contractors of the South Pars gas field development projects to work round the clock in three shifts to complete development of all phases, especially the phases 12, 15, 16, 17 and 18.
Iran has attached the priority on boosting gas production capacity from its joint oilfields with Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Qasemi said, the IRNA news agency reported.
Iran sits on the world's second largest natural gas reserves after Russia and is trying to grow its gas production by increasing foreign and domestic investments, especially in its South Pars gas field.
The South Pars gas field is shared by Iran and Qatar. The Iranian share, which is divided into 29 phases, has about 14 trillion cubic meters of gas, or about eight percent of the total world reserves, and more than 18 billion barrels of liquefied natural gas resources.