TEHRAN - Iran's Oil Minister has underlined "pressure boosting" in the South Pars gas field as one of the National Iranian Oil Company's (NIOC) top priorities, pledging significant progress by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (late March 2025).

"We are diligently advancing preliminary studies for the South Pars pressure boosting project, and I expect to announce promising updates regarding the finalization of certain contracts before the year's end," Minister Mohsen Paknejad said on Saturday.

The South Pars gas reservoir, a critical energy source for Iran, is experiencing pressure declines, raising alarms across the energy sector. Experts have repeatedly warned about the potential consequences, with the Parliament’s Research Center highlighting the deteriorating gas balance in the country.

In a recent report, the center projected that by 2041, daily gas production in Iran might reach 898.7 million cubic meters, significantly falling short of the anticipated demand of 1,410.8 million cubic meters. This shortfall of 512 million cubic meters per day could lead to severe challenges in meeting energy needs, especially during the winter months.

"The declining pressure in South Pars is a pressing concern for both the oil industry and the country at large,” the oil minister said, calling for immediate action to be taken to address this issue.

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

The huge offshore field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which 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.

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