Plans are underway to add 84 million cubic meters (mcm) per day to the natural gas production capacity of Iran's South Pars gas field by late March 2019, the Oil Ministry's news agency Shana said in a report on Wednesday.
Quoting the head of Pars Oil and Gas Company, Mohammad Meshkinfam, Shana said construction of four offshore platforms belonging to phases 13, 14 and 24 of the massive gas field had made 90 percent progress, which would boost the production capacity by 84 mcm/d by March 20, 2019, the end of the current Iranian calendar year.
Meshkinfam's comments came during a visit to the site of the Iran Marine Industrial Company (SADRA), which was awarded the construction of 10 South Pars platforms out of which one is already installed and a second is ready for loading, according to the report.
Meshkinfam added that arrangements were underway to hold licensing rounds for loading, installation and commissioning of the platforms.
He further said that five platforms were set to be installed by late September, and two gas processing trains of the onshore refining facilities belonging to phases 22 to 24 of the field were scheduled to come online by August.
-Sarkhoun and Qeshm Refinery processes 2.5 bcm of gas
In a separate report, Shana said the Sarkhoun and Qeshm Refinery had processed 2.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas over the course of the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20. "According to the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), the refinery's managing director said the plant processed 2,500 million cubic meters of natural gas last year and produced nearly 106 mcm of gas condensate and over 9,000 tons of LPG in the first half of the previous calendar year," Shana said.
Mohammad Hossein Norouzi said the company's plans were fully realized last calendar year and it won the national award of productivity, Shana added.
-Iran to boost oil output from North Yaran Field
Shana also said the first downhole pump (ESP) of Well No. 14 of the North Yaran oilfield, located near the border with Iraq, and shared by both countries, was installed to ramp up crude oil production. This is the first time that such a pump is being installed at a well in the West Karoon region, Shana noted, adding the production was scheduled to begin within the next 10 days.
Ten more similar pumps are to be installed at the field's various wells by the end of the next calendar year, it said. According to the report, production from the North Yaran field began on Nov. 17, 2016 and it currently produces 30,000 barrels per day of crude oil.
(Anadoly Agency)
