Iran Boosts Natural Gas Production at Huge South Pars Field

Iran is boosting natural gas production from Phase 11 of the giant South Pars field after bringing online a key new well, Iranian media reported on Tuesday.

The eighth well at South Pars 11 – the 11^th phase of development at the world’s largest natural gas discovery, which Iran shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf – will raise output from South Pars by 3 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d), Iranian state-run firm PetroPars said on Tuesday.

Thus, the total natural gas output at the giant South Pars field has reached 20 mcm/d.

Iran has had to develop Phase 11 of South Pars relying on domestic companies and technologies after French oil and gas major TotalEnergies quit business with Iran in 2018 after the U.S. re-imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil industry and exports.

In 2017, TotalEnergies became the first supermajor to return to Iran after the previous sanctions were lifted, with the multi-billion-dollar South Pars 11 gas development project. But the 2018 sanctions on Iran by the first Trump administration forced all Western companies to quit the Iranian market once again.

Iran was left developing Phase 11 at South Pars by itself, and this phase, according to Iranian media, is the most technically challenging of all 28 phases in the gas field.

While Western companies fled Iran, Chinese and Russian firms have been helping Iran develop South Pars and raise production at the world’s biggest natural gas reservoir.

Iran launched production at South Pars Phase 11 in August 2023.

Overall, the South Pars field currently accounts for 70% of Iran’s natural gas supply, as well as for 40% of the feedstock needed at domestic refineries for gasoline production.

All development phases of South Pars have as many as 40 offshore drilling rigs, hundreds of wells, and thousands of miles of subsea pipelines.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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