|
Flame of Industry Blazing in South Pars
What is 150 hectares
long weighs 130,000 tons and annually procures $1.32 billion for Iran? South
Pars Phases 2 & 3, of course. This mammoth project –105 kilometers away from
Port Assaluyeh’s shore– includes an onshore refinery, offshore facilities, 22
wells and two 32-inch-thick sub-sea pipelines extending 105 kilometers each.
These two phases alone pump 54 million cubic meters of natural gas, 80,000
barrels of condensate natural gas (CNG) and 400 tons of sulfur per day. Their
unmanned offshore facilities work independently through refineries, sending
the refined gas via 56-inch-thick pipes to the Third Trans-Iranian Gas Trunk
Line (IGAT – 3).
 |
|
" The
South Pars project has 11 more phases; six of which have already been
contracted out to foreign and domestic firms at a total of $7.4 billion." |
Iranian contractors
account for 30% of the project’s construction, but also benefited from
transfer of technology –particularly in offshore facilities– to an extent that
they are now approaching self-sufficiency in this field. They can already
construct, install and exploit offshore facilities unassisted, which have led
to huge currency savings. The onshore refinery has claimed 26 million hours of
manpower, with a maximum of 11,000 people working on it at a time –9,400 of
which were Iranian.
The South Pars gas
field, which is the world’s largest stand-alone gas field, is situated a
hundred kilometers below Iran’s southern shore on a border it shares with
Qatar. This gas field has a total area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 of
which belongs to Iran. Iran’s share of the field is estimated at 13.1 trillion
cubic meters of gas, which is 50% of the country’s proven reserves and 8% of
the world’s. Furthermore, the field is said to contain 17 billion barrels of
CNG.
Phases 2 & 3 of the
South Pars project were completed by means of a buyback contract worth $2.012
billion. Analysts of the world’s oil industry have since recognized the
project as a success. In addition to phases 2 & 3, the South Pars project has
11 more phases; six of which have already been contracted out to foreign and
domestic firms at a total of $7.4 billion. Phase 1 has had a physical
completion of 94% and Phases 4 & 5 have had a physical completion of 20%. When
Phase 1 is completed it is expected to have a daily yield of 25 million cubic
meters of refined natural gas, 40,000 barrels of CNG and 200 tons of sulfur.
Phases 4 & 5 will produce 50 million cubic meters of natural gas for domestic
consumption and export, 80,000 barrels of CNG and 400 tons of sulfur per day
in addition to its annual yield of a million tons of LPG, LNG and ethane which
will be used to fuel petrochemical complexes. Phases 4 & 5 will be ready for
production by 2005.
South Pars’ main aim is
meeting the increasing demand for gas in the world and domestic market. Its
gas is also used to re-inject oil fields to reinvigorate oil supplies. Iranian
President Seyyed Mohammad Khatami took part in a ceremony on 15 February 2003
to mark the beginning of production of phases 2 & 3 of South Pars. During the
ceremony President Khatami said oil and gas are valuable commodities and it
would be unwise if they were not turned into renewable material wealth. Oil
and gas can be of the most significant advantages our country enjoys if we do
not treat them as single-use objects. He continued to explain that if oil and
gas were treated as consumer goods we would be left with nothing to fill their
place. Even though oil has become the country’s economic engine we must also
supplement our budget by production and endeavor. President Khatami stated
that the government was proud of the development of South Pars and
congratulated the Minister of Oil, Bijan Zangeneh and other contributors for
the completion of Phases 2 & 3 and the progress of Phases 1, 4 & 5 after he
visited their sites and conducted an inspection. |
