Tehran, Iran, June 15
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
A recent report says dredging operations at the coast in Kangan city, Bushehr province, southern Iran have damaged the environment.
The extent of the dredging has been on the rise in the past few years, which has severely affected the seabed, Mehr news agency reported June 15.
The operations, which were carried out as part of Phase 14 of the South Pars gas and oil field, are likely to drive away many of the aquatic species in the area.
Operations to lay a pipeline for Phase 14 have gone without necessary standards or official permits.
A local environment activist speaking on condition of anonymity said the companies carrying out the dredging operations used the pretext that they were hastening their operations in line with national interests to catch up with other countries which share the oil field.
The director of the Department of Environment Protection of Kangan city, Ahmad Azaryar said the department had given the company responsible for the dredging a warning letter that they ignored.
"Now we have sued them and will pursue the case in full force," he said.
Phase 14 is projected to daily produce 56.5 million cubic meters of gas, 75,000 barrels of gas condensates, and 400,000 metric tons of sulfur. The phase will also produce one million metric tons of liquid fuel and one million metric tons of ethane each year.
South Pars is a joint gas field of Iran and Qatar.
The field on the Iranian side holds 14 trillion cubic meters of gas and has been divided into 29 phases, Phases 1 to 8 have been developed completely, Phases 9 and 10 has been operated, but not to full capacity and Phases 11 to 29 are under construction.
Edited by CN