Chinese state owned oil and gas company China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has started the executive operation of South Pars gas field’s phase 11 development plan, Pars Oil and Gas Company’s managing director Ali Vakili said according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.
National Iranian Oil Company and CNPC signed a US$5 billion contract in Beijing in 2009 for the development of phase 11 of the South Pars gas field, replacing France’s Total.
According to the signed contract with CNPC, Total and Malaysia’s Petronas can return to the project and collaborate with CNPC, if they express readiness.
Total pulled out of the gas field development project due to political concerns earlier in the year, as part of this original agreement with the French company, phase 11 would aim to develop the gas field to bring daily production to 50 million cubic metres of sour gas , which will be sent to Pars LNG plant to produce 10 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year. The phase will also produce 70,000 barrels gas condensate per day.Â
The South Pars gas field, the world’s largest, is being developed by Iran and Qatar. The Iranian share of the field is about 14 trillion cubic metres of gas, or about 8% of the total world reserves, and more than 18 billion barrels of liquefied natural gas resources.
The Iranian portion of the field is divided into 24 phases.
