South Pars Phase 11 Gains Momentum

"The jacket of platform B is already in place and the offshore platform [SPD 11B] is expected to be hauled from Qeshm Island and installed on its location soon," Hamidreza Masoudi was also quoted as saying by IRNA.

Pointing to the implementation of pipe-laying projects to connect the offshore deck to onshore refining facilities in the port city of Asalouyeh, he noted the 100-km-long 32-inch pipes are being laid as planned.

Petropars Group, which is in charge of developing the phase, has been using parts and equipment produced by Iranian manufacturers and the services of domestic companies in various sectors, as it aims to enhance the country's technical and engineering capabilities, he added.

Phase 11 is the only one among the 24 phases of the giant joint field in the Persian Gulf, which has not been developed yet. Iran shares the field with Qatar.

The Phase 11 development project includes the construction and installation of the jacket and topside of the phase, drilling 12 wells and laying pipes on the seabed from the phase’s platforms to onshore refineries.

Masoudi said about 12,000 meters of drilling operations to dig four production wells have been carried out, while it is estimated to reach 15,000 meters.

An estimated 14 million cubic meters of natural gas per day will be extracted from the phase by the end of the current Iranian year (March 2021-22).

Emphasizing the need to start early production from the phase, Masoudi said, “The producers of pipelines have been selected and pipe-laying operations will begin after the approval of the National Iranian Oil Company.”

French Total S.A. had signed a $5 billion agreement in 2016 to develop SP Phase 11 as the head of a consortium that included China National Petroleum Corporation and Petropars.

International Firms 

After canceling the agreement to develop the field due to the US pressure and new sanctions that forced international firms to walk away from Iran in 2018, the French energy company submitted the project's documents to its partner, CNPC. 

However, as the Chinese company did not take any measurers to develop the phase, Petropars started to work on the field by relying on domestic experts and knowhow.

Masoudi said $15 million have been invested and an additional $70 million are needed to complete the first phase of the project by April. 

When fully operational, the phase will produce 56.6 million cubic meters of gas per day plus 75,000 barrels of gas condensate. Gas will be transferred to onshore refineries in Asalouyeh and Kangan in Bushehr Province.

The giant gas field is spread over 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are in Iran’s territorial waters and the rest in Qatari waters.

With an estimated 14.2 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves in place plus 18 billion barrels of gas condensate, the Iranian side of the field accounts for 40% of Iran’s total estimated 33.8 tcm of gas reserves and 60% of its gas production.

Iran holds the world’s second largest gas reserves after Russia. According to BP Statistical Review of World Energy, Iran has 34 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, or 18% of the world’s proven reserves.

Petropars was founded in 1998 to help develop the vast energy resources and is one of the leading contractors of upstream oil and gas projects. It has recently been tasked with the development of the giant South Azadegan Oilfield in Khuzestan Province and Belal Gas Field off the Persian Gulf.