South Pars output may surpass North Dome

Iranian gas production from the South Pars field will outpace that of Qatar by 2018, Iran’s petroleum minister said.

Speaking to Iranian daily Ta’adol, Minister of Petroleum Bijan Namdar Zangeneh projected that his country’s planned South Pars projects will be completed on schedule and will put Iranian production at the field ahead of Qatar, which is the largest exporter of LNG in the world.

The field, named South Pars in Iran and the North Dome in Qatar, is estimated to hold around 51 tcf (1.44 tcm) of natural gas and more than 50 billion barrels of oil equivalent of condensates. Combined, the South Pars/North Dome is the world’s largest gas and condensates field, according to the International Energy Agency.

Iran’s section of the field contains an estimated 436 tcf (12.3 tcm) of gas, while Qatar’s holds around 900 tcf (25.5 tcm).

Daily production on either side is difficult to measure, as Iranian development is hindered by international sanctions, while Qatar placed North Dome projects under a moratorium in 2005 to maintain reserves.

However, Iranian authorities report that South Pars output will reach 100 mcm (3.53 bcf) per day by March 2015.

“Currently, phases 12, 15 and 16 and also a part of phase 17 have been put on stream,” Zangeneh said. “Over a period of less than two years, seven production platforms were launched simultaneously.”