TEHRAN - Annual overhaul operations of Iran’s South Pars gas field refineries have been completed, according to the managing director of South Pars Gas Company (SPGC) which operates the mentioned refineries.

Ahmad Bahoush said the overhaul operations of the 13 South Pars refineries have been completed and the complex is now completely ready for the steady supply of gas through the cold season, Shana reported.

Pointing to SPGC’s important achievements in this year’s overhaul program, the official said that all the parts and equipment used in this year’s overhaul operations have been manufactured and supplied by domestic knowledge-based companies and manufacturers.

“The current stable and continuous production in the South Pars Gas complex has been achieved with the efforts and dedication our dear personnel; We hope that in the shadow of empathy and teamwork, we can take bigger steps in the direction of serving the society and prosperity of the country,” the official said.

Earlier this year, Bahoush had said that the production at South Pars refineries is going to increase after the overhaul program of the complex is completed.

In an interview with Shana in late July, Bahoush stated that last year more than 195 billion cubic meters of natural gas was processed in this complex.

Referring to the SPGC plans to sustain and increase production in the coming years, the official said: “connecting all refineries of the complex to backup electricity, providing quality mechanical spare parts at the right time, providing spare export compressors, providing parts related to rotating equipment, and timely providing consumable chemicals are among the most important things in the sustainability of production which we plan to increase in the coming years.”

He further underlined the significant role of the SPGC in meeting domestic needs and increasing the export of natural gas to neighboring countries and noted: “Currently, the SPGC’s share in the country’s gas production is more than 75 percent, and with the production and export of by-products such as propane, butane, gas condensate and granulated sulfur this complex plays a very strategic role in the supply of such important products as well.”

SPGC is operating 14 gas refineries in Southern Iran that are currently processing the gas extracted from the country’s giant South Pars gas field which Iran shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf.

South Pars is currently divided into 24 standard phases on the Iranian side and 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.

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

EF/