South Pars Phases 9 & 10

Biggest National Project of the Year

The main message of the development project for South Pars phases 9 and 10 was that the biggest Iranian project was implemented through Iranian management.

Completion of phases 9 and 10 of South Pars gas field was the embodiment of “we want” and “we can” slogans.

Soon after the revolution (1979), we were hesitant about the most primary tasks of the oil industry and now, we are proud to have pulled off a project through about 90 million person-hours of engineering work, procurement and implementation for the Iranian side, while the share of the foreign side only stood at about one million person-hours.

We have required our subsidiary companies to allocate 30 percent of their capacities to overseas projects
	Dr. Mehdi Karbasian

What we learned in this project was not simply technical issues, but also software ones. We learned how to manage a project using a manpower pool of 12,000 persons. We learned how to make plans and weather crises. We learned how to control costs. It was a university where we introduced 12,000 people into the labor market and it turned into an applied university for young people who are now in a position to use their experiences in other domestic and foreign projects.

Through the project we learned how to interact with and trust each other. We learned how to use domestic contractors and turn their weaknesses into strengths. Now, it is time to announce that we are ready to implement one project per year for our oil industry.

These were the highlights of remarks made in a ceremony which marked completion of the development plan of phases 9 and 10 of South Pars gas field. The meeting was planned and organized by Dr. Mehdi Karbasian.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Dr. Mehdi Karbasian, on behalf of directorate of the Oil Industry Pension Fund and all 54,000 retired as well as 83,000 working personnel of the oil industry, thanked officials of the two companies whose main stockholder is Oil Industry Pension Fund. The two companies include Oil Industries’ Engineering and Construction Group (OIEC) and Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IOEC). He expressed hope that the trend would continue and all people who are sincerely serving the country would be appreciated.

He said despite many problems for finance and for offshore and onshore operations, phases 9 and 10 project was pulled off by perseverant personnel and contractors of both companies and thanked all of them as well as former ministers of petroleum, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh, and Gholamhossein Nozari, the current minister of petroleum.

Karbasian said, “We, in the Pension Fund, are honored to both serve pensioners as our main duty, and play a direct role in investing in oil projects. We are honored that we invest in major companies such as Oil Industries’ Engineering and Construction Group and Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company which have done their job in the best possible manner.”

“We have required our subsidiary companies to allocate 30 percent of their capacities to overseas projects and this policy is being ardently pursued. In fact, exporting technical and engineering services is on the Fund’s agenda.

About 29 domestic subcontractors have been directly involved in different design and implementation of structures and operations which is almost unprecedented in the history of oil and gas industry projects
	Gholamhossein Nozari, Minister of Petroleum

Phases 9 and 10 of South Pars gas field, as the biggest national project, aim to produce 50 million cu. m. of refined natural gas per day to be injected into the national gas network, 80,000 barrels of gas condensate per day for exports, an annual production of one million tons of ethane for petrochemical complexes, an annual production of 1.05 million tons of liquefied petroleum gas and a daily production of 400,000 tons of sulfur for exports.

“In view of the bad geographical and weather conditions in Assaluyeh, launching offshore platforms, which is a very difficult and risky operation, was carried out by our personnel and, at present, phases 9 and 10 have the needed platforms, pipelines, and connection of sea pipeline to land pipeline. Also, all wells have been drilled. We also needed a special alloy for completion of gas wells. When that alloy is procured and installed into the wells, pipelines will be connected to wells and platforms and the gas from the said phases will flow to onshore refinery,” he added.

Karbasian further noted, “Phases 9 and 10 will receive gas from their own wells in the first half of the (Iranian year) 1388 (2009-10). Wells related to Phase 9 will be fully operational in spring and those related to Phase 10 will come on-stream in the next summer. They will increase Iran’s gas output from the South Pars field which is shared with Qatar to more than 250 million cu. m. a day.

Development projects for phases 9 and 10 have been funded through finance scheme. Unlike the previous eight phases, which were developed through four development plans, no single company was leading the consortium of involved companies and it was shared among Oil Industries’ Engineering and Construction Group, Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company, and South Korea’s GC.

M. Soltanpour, Managing Director of Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IOEC)

Although about 38 percent of the project was given to the Korean side, since it only provided the needed merchandise for the project, development of phases 9 and 10 can be considered a totally Iranian project, so that, the onshore part of the project was done by OIEC and the offshore part has been carried out by IOEC.

Iranian contractors have shared responsibility of the project. About 29 domestic subcontractors have been directly involved in different design and implementation of structures and operations which is almost unprecedented in the history of oil and gas industry projects.

Further in the ceremony, Minister of Petroleum Gholamhossein Nozari thanked all those who were involved in the project including Karbasian who has managed the IOEC and OIEC throughout the project.

Minister of petroleum said many foreign companies maintained that if Iranians could finish the development of phases 9 and 10, they would not need them for other phases.

“I am happy to announce that the main goal of developing South Pars gas field, which was reliance on domestic companies, manufacturers and managers, has been realized.

R. Javadi, Managing Director of Oil Industries' Engineering & Construction (OIEC)

“I think such ceremonies are not enough to laud the efforts of the oil industry managers and staff and we need frequent sessions to delineate various aspects of such projects.

“Managers of involved companies better write down their experiences to tell future generations about problems and obstacles with which they have faced.

“I hope phases 9 and 10, as an unprecedented model for domestic construction, engineering, and design as well as installation and construction would become a role model for the oil industry.”

The minister of petroleum said there has been no national project bigger than development of South Pars phases 9 and 10 in 2008 and it was owed to all involved personnel.