TEHRAN - Average daily production of natural gas in Iran’s South Pars gas field has reached 700 million cubic meters (mcm) to meet the demand for natural gas as the weather gets colder, according to the managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC).

“Simultaneously with the arrival of the new cold wave and the increase in gas consumption in the country, the daily gas extraction from the South Pars joint field has reached 700 million cubic meters,” Mohammad-Hossein Motejali said.

Motejali listed the priorities of Pars Oil and Gas Company in two sectors, development and operation, and referring to the important role of this company in managing the country's gas production and consumption balance in the cold months of the year, he said: “the implementation of the production maintenance plan from the South Pars gas field is one of the most important priorities of this company.”

South Pars gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf, is divided into 24 standard phases of development in the first stage. Most of the phases are fully operational at the moment.

South Pars Gas Company (SPGC) is in charge of the refineries of the complex on shore, while POGC operates the platforms of the field offshore.

Earlier this year, a report published by the Oil Ministry’s Planning Directorate showed that the capacity of Iran’s daily natural gas production exceeded 1,000 mcm in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20).

According to the report, the country's natural gas production capacity registered the mentioned record for the first time in the previous year when gas production from the South Pars gas field increased by more than four percent compared to the preceding year (1399).

South Pars field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which, called South Pars, are in Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 square kilometers, called North Dome, are situated in Qatar’s territorial waters.

The field 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.

EF/MA