TEHRAN (Tasnim) � The construction of 20th and 21st development phases of the giant South Pars Gas Field has had near 85 percent of progress, and it is predicted that it would get fully operational next year, an executive official said on Tuesday.








The executive manager of the construction project, Alireza Ebadi, noted that all refinery units of phases 20 and 21 will be ready for production next winter.

The biggest progress in the construction of these two phases has been made in the recent two years, Ebadi noted, stressing that 84.5 percent of the project has already been completed.

He went on to say that 60 percent of the project was carried out by the Iranian experts, adding that European, South Korean, and Chinese companies have supplied the materials.

The remarks came as the 17th and 18th phases were also announced to become fully operational in coming months, adding 56 million cubic meters of natural gas to the country�s daily production.

The completion of these phases will come after the phases 15 and 16 of the South Pars were officially inaugurated and connected to national grid a couple of weeks ago, in a ceremony attended by President Hassan Rouhani.

Phases 15 and 16 were the first ones whose construction, installment and operation were fully carried out by Iranian experts.

The South Pars gas field, whose development has been divided into 24 phases, is located in the Persian Gulf straddling the maritime border between Iran and Qatar. It is estimated that the Iranian section of the field contains 14 trillion cubic meters of gas and 18 billion barrels of condensates in place.

According to the 64th Edition of the BP Statistical Review of World Energy released in June, Iran is the world's top gas reserves holder with 33.8 trillion cubic meters.

By Tasnim News Agency