Iran Inaugurates 5 South Pars Phases
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said during this weekend's official inauguration of five phases of Iran’s South Pars giant gas field – dubbed North Field by Qatar -- that nominal production capacity on the Iranian side increased by 150mn m3/d, to 575mn m3/d – so to an equivalent of 210bn m3/yr.
But the event was more ceremonial, as all five phases had already entered production in the past year.
The joint field contains about 40 trillion m3 of recoverable reserves, of which a third belongs to Iran. Qatar is the field's other owner.
Iran inaugurated phases 17-21 on April 16 officially, a month before presidential elections, but they are still operating at half-capacity. The phases all became operational during the fiscal year ending March 21, 2017 but were inaugurated officially this April 16. They are expected gradually to become fully operational this summer.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani at the April 16 inauguration event (Photo credit: Iranian presidency)
According to an official document, prepared by oil ministry and seen by NGW, Iran increased the actual production level from South Pars by 68.5mn m3/d during the 2016-17 fiscal year, and that nominal production capacity also increased by 95mn m3/d, reaching 495mn m3/d on March 21, 2017.
Qatar also announced Apr.2 that it is preparing to increase gas output by 10% or 56mn m3/d from North Field in 5-7 years. Qatar’s actual output from North Field stands at about 505mn m3/d, however, the officials put the nominal capacity at 560mn m3/d.
Azerbaijan desk