Development operations on the South Pars field in the Persian Gulf (Iran) are moving forward and the Iranian government reports that the field has reached a daily output of 570 mcm/d. Iran now hopes to commission all the remaining South Pars phases (SP 13, 14, 22, 23 and 24) in the next fiscal year (by late March 2019), which will require investments between US$20bn and US$30bn. 11 phases have been completed in the last four years, doubling the production level from 280 mcm/d up to 570 mcm/d.
The South Pars / North Dome gas field is the largest in the world and is shared between Iran and Qatar. Its development on the Iranian side is divided into about 30 phases, 25 of which are active now. Phases 1-10 are intended for domestic consumption and injection into Iranian oil fields, while gas from the other phases should be exported. In July 2017, a consortium led by Total and CNPC has signed a contract with the Iranian national oil group, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), for the development of SP11. In the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the South Pars gas production increased by 150 mcm/d up to 520 mcm/d with the start-up of the SP17-21 phases. This figure accounts for around 60% of the total Iranian gas production (885 mcm/d).