Page 35 - IRANRptApr20

Iran announces installation of final platform for Phase 13 of South Pars gas field development
The last platform required for the Phase 13 development of the South Pars gas field off the coast of Iran has been installed, official energy news agency SHANA has reported.
The entirety of South Pars in the Persian Gulf is thought to make up the largest gas field in the world. Shared by Iran and Qatar, its development, in Iranian waters, has been hampered by US sanctions that in August 2018 put an end to French energy major Total’s participation in planned South Pars hydrocarbon extraction. Last October, ​Tehran announced​ that the China National Petroleum Corporation had also withdrawn from its role in helping to develop the giant field.
The local contractor of the project said the new mega-structure would raise the daily gas production of Phase 13 to 56mn cubic metres.
The platform weighs some 2,500 tonnes and was produced by local firm Marine Industrial Company (SADRA) in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas.
Earlier, in February, the final platform required for the gas field development’s Phase 14 was installed. Platform 14D was shipped from the SADRA shipyard. Its operation should add 500mn cubic feet (14.2mn c/m) of gas to Iran’s South Pars output, according to Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC), which is solely in charge of South Pars development.
Mohammad Mehdi Tavasoli-Pour, manager of Phase 14, said it was anticipated that production of 56 mcm/d of rich gas would be extracted from the South Pars phase he manages.
A previous platform, Platform 14B, was installed in mid-July last year. It was built over the course of 115 months by Iranian firms.
The first Phase 14 platform, 14A, started operations during summer 2018. The second platform to go operational, 14C, went into service in October 2018.
The Iranian petrochemical industry needs $30bn in investment to complete projects and must raise this money “from small domestic investors” according to Iran’s oil minister, Radio Farda has reported. Bijan Namdar Zanganeh noted that foreign investment in Iran has dried up since the US reimposed sanctions on the country in 2018.
Petrochemical exports is still seen as a promising area for Iran as, while the US has concentrated on attempting to drive Iranian crude oil exports to zero, it faces a much harder task in stopping flows of petrochemicals as the petrochemical market is complex and tracing the origins of its great range of products is a tough ask. However, with vastly reduced revenues from oil exports, Iran has far less capital to invest in both its oil and petrochemical industries.
Speaking at an oil industry conference in Tehran, Zanganeh said that $10-12bn worth of petrochemical projects nationwide have been finalised but that others need planning and resources, Fars reported.
He also reportedly painted a disparaging picture of investments in the oil industry, saying the sector needed annual infusions of $25bn simply to ensure its productivity. Without investments, the whole chain of oil production “will face difficulties”, he was cited as saying.
Issuing bonds, borrowing from domestic banks and using Iran’s foreign currency reserves were three options for financing the revitalisation and development of Iran’s oil and petrochemical sectors, the minister added.
Most Iranian petrochemical companies are either directly or indirectly controlled by government state entities.
35​ IRAN Country Report April 2020 www.intellinews.com