TEHRAN - The first train of Iran’s South Pars gas field’s phases 20 and 21 refinery was launched on Sunday and the phases’ flare was lit up using the sour gas received from phases 6, 7 and 8, IRNA reported.

Inaugurating the gas sweetening process, the refinery’s network will be connected to the national gas pipeline in few days, IRNA cited the Public Relations Department of Oil Industries Engineering and Construction (OIEC) Company as saying.

Based on the report, OIEC is implementing the development project of South Pars phases 20 and 21 in both onshore and offshore sections, aiming to produce 2 billion cubic feet of gas and 80,000 barrels of gas condensate per day.

Earlier in March, Alireza Ebadi, the operator of phases 20 and 21 development project, said that development of these phases will be completed by the end of current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2017).

South Pars gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf, is estimated to contain a significant amount of natural gas, accounting for about eight percent of the world’s reserves, and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensate.

South Pars is divided into 24 standard phases, of which phases 1-10, 12, 15 and 16 are fully operational. Each standard phase is projected to produce 50 million cubic meters of gas per day.

EF/MA