Denmark's Maersk Oil has estimated potential output for the second phase of Iran's South Pars oil deposit at 120,000-140,000 barrels of oil per day, Fars News Agency reported, citing an official at National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).

The estimate is part of Maersk Oil's development study for the second development phase of the offshore oilfield, NIOC's vice president for engineering and development Gholamreza Manouchehri as saying.

Maersk Oil, part of Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk, declined to comment. The company signed a memorandum of understanding with NIOC in 2016 "to explore opportunities for future collaboration."

South Pars stretches into Qatari waters where the oil-bearing layer is called Al-Shaheen and shares the same difficult geological characteristics.

Since the completion of the preliminary studies, the Danish company has been in talks with the National Iranian Oil Company for development of South Pars gas field’s oil layer in the Persian Gulf.

The development of the South Pars oil layer will be awarded under a 20-year contract. The project is estimated to cost about $6 billion and the field’s final output will be 120,000 barrels per day.

(Source: Agencies)