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had not interrupted activities at the field, while adding that all activities were entirely in accordance with safety and health standards.
Earlier, in March,​ the last platform required for Phase 13​ in developing South Pars was installed.
The local contractor for the platform 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 Iranian firm Marine Industrial Company (SADRA) in Bandar Abbas.
In February, the final platform required for the gas field development’s Phase 14 was installed. Platform 14D was also shipped from the SADRA shipyard.
Iranian gas flows to Turkey that were stopped 14 days ago after a suspected terrorist attack on a pipeline have yet to resume, IRNA reported on April 12.
The exact cause of the explosion that hit the pipeline near the Gurbulak border crossing in the eastern Turkish province of Agri remains unverified, but the location where the blast took place is amid a hotbed of Kurdish opposition in Turkey. Kurdish separatist groups have previously targeted infrastructure in eastern Turkey near the border with Iran.
National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) said that unlike previous incidents involving such damage which were dealt with within three days, the damage on this occasion has not been fixed. Turkish company BOTAS was assigned to carry out the repairs.
NIGC said it believed that the delays in fixing the destroyed pipeline connection were partly caused by the workload Turkey faces in fighting its coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. It was distracting from the situation with the pipeline, it added.
Mehdi Jamshidi Dana, director of dispatching at NIGC, said the Iranian side had informed Turkish counter-parties that they would be able to fix the ruptured pipeline in “just under a week”, but was yet to hear back from Turkey.
9.1.2 ​Automotive sector news
Iran's Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade has ranked SAIPA (Société anonyme Iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën) as the country’s biggest automaker, given its production performance in the 2019/2020 Persian calendar year that ended on March 20.
Its announcement knocks Iran Khodro Co. (IKCO) from the number one spot. IKCO appears to have been dislodged because of the combined impacts of heavy US sanctions—economic consequences have forced many Iranian consumers to put off new vehicle purchases—and the severe coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak Iran has suffered since March.
The SAIPA Group produced 414,575 vehicles in the last Persian calendar year, compared to 419,845 in the previous 12-month period.
IKCO produced 372,591 vehicles in the last Persian calendar year, marking a 12.5% y/y decrease. In the previous 12-month period, it produced 425,825 vehicles.
In the 2019/2020 Persian year, Iran produced an overall 831,334 vehicles, 13% down year on year.
9.1.3 ​Aviation sector news
Iran’s airlines expected to clock
Iranian airlines are set to record losses of around Iranian rial (IRR) 30 trillion ($183mn at the free market rate, $714mn at the government rate)
38​ IRAN Country Report May 2020 www.intellinews.com