Iran says to extract natural gas from Persian Gulf gas field in winter

Mohsen Khojastehmehr, a deputy oil minister and the CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), stated on Wednesday that gas production from South Pars Phase 11 will start in winter thanks to plans to install pressure booster platforms in the field.

Khojastehmehr added the NIOC and Russia’s state petroleum company Gazporm have been negotiating on the installation of the pressure boosters in South Pars.

“Exploration and concept studies on this project have ended and foundational studies are underway … we hope gas production from Phase 11 will materialize in winter this year,” he was quoted as saying by the semi-official ILNA news agency.

Iran has developed all 28 phases but one at South Pars, the world’s largest gas field located on the maritime border between Iran and Qatar.

Phase 11 has some of the largest and most complicated reservoirs in South Pars. Iran awarded a major contract to French energy giant Total in 2016 for construction of pressure booster platforms on the field. However, Total left Iran a year later under pressure from the United States.

The NIOC and Gazprom signed a historic investment deal on Tuesday just hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Tehran.

Reports said a key plank of the deal will be a $15-billion project to construct pressure booster platforms in the South Pars.