Iran has officially inaugurated four new phases of the South Pars offshore gas field, i.e. phases 13, 22, 23 and 24. A total of US$11bn were invested in the four mega projects, which will add 56 mcm/d of gas, 75,000 bbl/d of gas condensate and 400 t/d of sulfur and will enable to produce 1 Mt/year of ethane and 1 Mt/year of propane and butane.
The South Pars / North Dome gas field is the largest in the world and is shared between Iran and Qatar. The Iranian asset is divided into 24 phases: phases 1-10 are intended for domestic consumption and injection into Iranian oil fields, while gas from the other phases should be exported. Gas production will ramp up to 750 mcm/d in late 2019 and all the phases are expected to be operational by March 2020. This will be a key contribution to Iran's gas production, which is predicted to reach 880 mcm/d by 2020 and 950 mcm/d by 2021, respectively.