Azerbaijan, Baku, April 30/Trend M. Moezzi
If a consortium's delays in developing phases 17 and 18 of Iran's joint South Pars oil and gas field aren't remedied, Iran's Oil Ministry will take action, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reports.
The consortium formed by the Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IOEC) Industrial Development and Renovation Organisation of Iran (IDRO) says the delays aren't its fault and has to do with banking and money issues.
Mousa Souri, the head of South Pars Oil and Gas Company, said the delays are serious but hoped new changes would resolve the problem. If not, then the Oil Ministry will take charge of the project.
The cost of building phases 17 and 18 is $2 billion. When finished they're projected to produce 50 million cubic meters of processed gas a day.
Iran and Qatar share the 9,700 square kilometre South Pars gas and oil field-lay. Qatar, however, is far ahead of Iran in exploiting the field's resources. It has intensified developing South Pars while Iran suffers international sanctions and technical and financial obstacles.