South Pars Gas Field’s products, including gas condensates, natural gas and derivatives, accounted for 50% of government revenues in 2020, the managing director of South Pars Gas Complex said.
"The government generated close to $37.5 billion in revenues in the last fiscal year [ended March 20, 2021)], of which $19 billion came from selling SP strategic commodities, namely natural gas, ethane, butane, propane, sulfur, condensates and liquefied petroleum gas," Hadi Hashemzadeh Farhang was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
The National Iranian Oil Company has earned approximately $335 billion by selling SP products since 2002, he added.
Referring to figures released by the Pars Oil and Gas Company, a subsidiary of NIOC and operator of SP projects, Hashemzadeh noted that around 2 trillion cubic meters of gas and 2.2 billion barrels of condensates have been extracted from the giant field over the last 18 years.
“South Pars, the world's largest proven offshore natural gas reservoir in the Persian Gulf, contains at least 14 tcm of gas, of which 2 tcm have been extracted by Iran in the 18-year period. It also holds 18 billion barrels of condensates,” he said.
According to the official, Iran’s daily withdrawal from SP has increased from 282 million cubic meters per day in 2013 to 700 mcm/d at present.
“The giant hydrocarbon field accounted for 10% of Iran’s gas production in 2002. Nevertheless, the share has now risen to 70%,” he said.
“About $80 billion have been invested to develop South Pars since 2002 when the field’s daily output was as low as 32 mcm/d.”
Giving a breakdown, Hashemzadeh said around $9 billion were spent on the field between 2002 and 2006 to boost production by 113 mcm/d after four years and output reached 145 mcm/d in 2006.
“Between 2006 and 2013, NIOC invested $45 billion in the gas field and daily output reached 287 mcm,” he said.
Domestic Requirement
Close to $24 billion have been spent to develop the field since 2013 and its production currently accounts for 70% of the domestic need.
“To reach 1.5 bcm/d, NIOC needs at least $30 billion over the next two decades,” he said.
According to Mohammad Meshkinfam, managing director of POGC, around 2,150 kilometers of subsea pipelines are in place to connect 36 offshore platforms to 30 onshore refining units, while 228 deep wells have been drilled in the sea since 2002.
The CEO said an estimated $50 billion are needed to develop and maintain gas fields across Iran over the next 20 years.
Unlike most countries where natural gas comprises maximum 23% of the energy basket, the figure is around 70% in Iran, of which 50% come from the giant gas field.
In addition to natural gas, close to 21,000 tons of LPG and 15,400 tons of ethane are produced in the complex on a daily basis.
SPGC produced 251 million barrels of gas condensates in 2020, he said.
"Output showed a 5% [9 million barrels] growth compared with the corresponding period of 2019 when production was around 237 million."
Condensates as Feedstock
Over 650,000 barrels of gas condensate per day are supplied to Persian Gulf Star Refinery in Hormozgan Province and Nouri Petrochemical Complex in southern Bushehr Province as feedstock to produce gasoline and other value-added products, he added.
Hashemzadeh noted that close to 183 bcm of natural gas, 4.5 million tons of ethane, 1.7 million tons of butane and 2.7 million tons of propane were also processed in the complex in 2020.
SPGC accounts for 73% and 92% of total natural gas and gas condensate output respectively in Iran.
The official noted that South Pars accounts for 96% of liquefied petroleum gas, 100% of ethane and 55% of sulfur produced in Iran.
Data pertaining to 2018 show a rise in output of a variety of byproducts, namely ethane (42%), LPG (35%) and sulfur (35%), compared to the year before.
South Pars, the world's largest gas field shared by Iran and Qatar, was developed in 24 phases, of which 22 phases are operational and Phase 14 is undergoing completion. Phase 11 has not been developed yet.
The huge gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar, covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which (South Pars) are in Iran’s territorial waters and the rest (North Dome) is in Qatari waters. It is estimated to contain large deposits of natural gas, accounting for 8% of the world’s known reserves and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensates.
