South Pars Phase 12 to Earn Iran $6b Annually

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Phase 12 of South Pars (SP) gas field would earn Iran six billion dollars, 5.3 percent of gross national product (GNP), per year if the lowest prices were considered, said Petropars Company managing director here on Thursday.

Gholamreza Manuchehri made the remarks on the sidelines of a ceremony to sign the contract on construction of three offshore decks for Phase 12 with the Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IOEC), PIN said.

The Petropars head added Phase 12 was tantamount to three phases of SP gas field and its economic value would soar to 12 billion dollars per annum.

The official said 12 wells would be drilled around each platforms of Phase 12, transferring gas from offshore to onshore area through a 32-inch 150-km-long pipeline.

The first unit of Phase 12 would start work in Dec. 2009, said the Petropars Company’s project manager.

Hamid Akbari made the statement in a ceremony in which the contract on pipe-laying operations of Phase 12 was signed.

The contract was inked by managing directors of Petropars Company and Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IOEC), Gholamreza Manuchehri and Massoud Soltanpur.

According to the project manager, 120 thousand barrels of gas condensates will be desulfurized in the phase per day and 750 tons of sulfur will be exported daily.

“Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company is duty-bound to design, manage, carry out the project, purchase the equipment, coat and lay the pipes, and deliver it temporarily,” added the official.

Based on the contract, the first 32-inch pipeline would be prepared 26 months after the signing of the agreement, the second 32-inch pipeline 28 months after, the third 32-inch pipeline 30 months later, and the 30-inch gas condensates pipeline 20 months later, said Akbari.

Talking about the onshore operations of the project, he said BPC1 comprised gas condensates tanks and non-industrial structures, BPC2 included liquids and subsidiary installations of the refinery, and BPC3 was consisted of gas treatment.

“The installation of three platforms and three jackets has been included in the offshore operations,” said the Petropars official.

The contract on pipe-laying operations of Phase 12 was inked in the Petroleum Ministry.

The project comprises the engineering, purchasing, and installing of three undersea 32-inch pipelines along with 4.5-inch piggyback and a 35-inch 5-km pipeline along with SPM for gas condensates transmission.

According to the estimates, the project costs 753.363 million dollars and is implemented in 30 months.

The main aim behind the development of Phase 12 is to produce 27 million cubic meters of sweet gas per day for domestic consumption and 56 million cubic meters of gas daily for feeding the LNG plants.

The project is to produce 84 million cubic meters of gas from 80 wells, 25 million cubic meters of natural sweet gas, 110 thousand barrels of gas condensates, 600 tons of sulfur, 500 thousand tons of ethane, and 530 thousand tons of liquefied gas per day.

An Indian oil and gas delegation started negotiations with Iran on development of Phase 12, the managing director of the Petropars Company had already announced.

According to the agreements made by the sides, the countries would jointly develop the phase to produce LNG, added Manuchehri.

Considering India’s need for liquefied gas, the country predicted a nine-million-ton production of liquefied natural gas per annum, he said.