94% of POGC annual goals realized, says managing director

Speaking to the press on the occasion of the Government Week (August 23-29), Mohammad Meshkinfam said on Tuesday that the development programs are still ongoing in the current year and great achievements are also on the horizon for the current Iranian calendar year.

Underlining some of the major achievements of the company, Meshkinfam said in the previous year drilling and complementary operations for 37 wells were carried out while the development of phases 13, 14, 22-24 has been ongoing, some of which will be completed in the current year.

Development of South Pars Phase 13

Noting that the delay in the completion of some of the development projects had been due to the limitations created by the coronavirus pandemic, the official said the Platform 13C, the third platform of phase 13 of South Pars gas field’s development project, officially started sending gas to the refinery last week and hopefully Platform 13A will also go operational this year.

Meshkinfam put the current capacity of phase 13 offshore platforms at 43 million cubic meters (mcm) per day and said that 28.5 mcm of this figure is related to the two platforms of 13B and 13D from the first phase of this project which started operating two years ago.

Mentioning the 13A platform, which is the last platform of phase 13, the official said: "This platform is the last link in completing the production chain in the South Pars Phase 13 development project, and after completing its development the gas extraction capacity of this phase will reach 56 million cubic meters.”

Completion of SP complex remaining refineries

Meshkinfam further announced the completion of a number of remaining units of the refineries of phases 13 and 22-24 this year and said: "Despite all the problems and obstacles we were able to complete some very difficult development projects at the refinery of phases 13, 22-24 and 19, which is a unique action.”

He stated that among the refineries of the South Pars onshore complex only the refinery of Phase 14 has remained, for which the contractor has been selected and is currently working on the project.

According to the official, the first train of this refinery will go operational by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 2021).

Phase 11 development on the right path

Referring to the development of phase 11 of South Pars, as the only remaining offshore phase of the field’s development project, Meshkinfam said following the signing of the contract for the development of phase 11 with Petropars Company and the installation of the first jacket of this phase, drilling of wells will begin soon and the signing of ancillary contracts is also underway.

The wellhead jacket of phase 11 was loaded from the yard of Naft Sazeh Qeshm (NSQ) and was installed on its designated offshore spot in the Persian Gulf in early May.

Petropars is developing the project after its partners, Total and CNPCI, pulled out of the project due to the U.S. sanctions.

The project aims to generate 2 billion cubic feet of rich gas, and transfer it to existing South Pars refineries and use the refinery's processing capacity.

South Pars is the world’s largest gas field, covering an area of 3,700 square kilometers of Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.

The giant field is estimated to contain a significant amount of natural gas, accounting for about eight percent of the world’s reserves, and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensate. The field is divided into 24 standard phases.

The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue the implementation of important oil projects including the development of joint oil and gas fields in the current Iranian year.

Being among the world’s top four countries that have the largest proven deposits of crude oil and natural gas, Iran shares the broad offshore field with Qatar in the southern Iranian region of the Persian Gulf.