Page 34 - IRANRptApr19

He said Iran had invested $11bn to complete phases 13 and 22-24 of the massive field, which Tehran shares with Qatar. Officials expected 27 phases would be in operation by next March, he added, oil ministry-controlled news agency Shana reported.
Iranian oil ministry officials have said Iran’s South Pars gas production stands at 610mn cm per day, exceeding that of Qatar. The commissioning of the four new phases is to boost that rate to 700mn cm per day.
Prior to CNPC’s suspension of its South Pars activities, French energy major Total pulled out of phase 11 after the US warned it would impose secondary sanctions on companies that continued to do business with Iran.
Iran badly needs foreign investment to boost output from its oil and gas reserves because much of its hydrocarbon production has been restricted or crippled by years of Western sanctions.
Iran is to launch four new phases at South Pars, the world’s largest gas field, the oil ministry said on Twitter on March 12. The phases are to have a production capacity of up to 110mn cubic metres per day, it added.
South Pars in the Persian Gulf is shared between Iran and Qatar, which calls it North Field. The Iranian oil ministry says Iran’s South Pars gas production stands at 610mn cm per day, exceeding that of Qatar.
France’s Total and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) suspended investment in South Pars last year after the US warned it would impose sanctions on companies that continue to do business with Iran.
The oil ministry’s news agency SHANA quoted a project manager in South Pars phase 13 as saying on March 12 that a gas refinery in the field was fully operational and ready to be inaugurated.
“The refinery of the phase is fully operational ... The first shipping of gas condensate from phase 13 was delivered on March 11 for export,” Payam Motamed, operator of the South Pars phase 13 project, said—according to a translation of the comments by Reuters—adding that the refinery had the capacity to process 56.6mn cm of gas a day.
He reportedly also said around $5bn was invested for the development of the field’s phase 13 and that the value of the daily products from it was $5mn. Iran needs foreign investment to boost output from its oil and gas reserves because production has been crippled by years of Western sanctions.
9.1.2 Automotive sector news
Auto production in Iran plunged 73.3% y/y in the 12 months to February 19, latest data released by Iran Vehicle Manufacturers Association shows.
The collapse in the value of the Iranian rial (IRR) as a consequence of renewed US sanctions has forced much of the car buying Iranian public out of the market. Automakers and parts suppliers, meanwhile, have been hit by a series of shocks including foreign partners leaving the country due to the US action and big increases in the prices of components.
According to the data, van production dropped from 133 units in the Persian month that ended on January 20 to 35 units in the following local calendar month. Production of industrial vehicle maker Iran Khodro Diesel (IKD) fell to no vehicles produced.
Small independent manufacturer Soroush Diesel, an assembler of Hyundai-branded small lorries and vans, saw a 63% reduction y/y, producing 85 units.
34 IRAN Country Report April 2019 www.intellinews.com