Gas extraction from South Pars at record high
Iran’s natural gas extraction from the South Pars field has surged to an all-time high of 718 million cubic meters (mcm) per day, said Touraj Dehqani, CEO of the state-run Pars Oil and Gas Co. (POGC).
Dehqani attributed the record to three new wells brought online in the border sections of the shared field, which had added 5 mcm to daily extraction, IRNA reported.
South Pars is the world’s largest gas field, shared between Iran and Qatar in the Persian Gulf.
The new record surpasses the 716 mcm reached on February 13 by about 2 mcm.
Dehqani said that six more wells were expected to come on stream by March, which would further boost gas extraction from the mammoth field by another 5 mcm per day.
The POGC, Iran’s largest natural gas producer, operates 350 wells and 39 offshore platforms in South Pars. Gas from these platforms is piped to the processing facilities in the southern port city of Assaluyeh, where it is refined in 13 gas refineries.
Iran is the world’s third-largest natural gas producer after the United States and Russia, while, according to Dehqani, it also is the fourth-largest consumer of natural gas globally.
Despite holding the second-largest gas reserves in the world after Russia, the nation still faces gas shortages, which intensify in winter due to surging demand and limited supply capacity.
Last winter, more than 860 mcm of processed gas were pumped into the national trunkline on some days, yet there remained a daily shortfall of around 300 mcm.
Saeed Tavakkoli, Iran’s deputy oil minister for the gas sector, has forecast that the gas deficit could soar to 400 mcm per day this coming winter.
For years, the government has been forced to cut gas supplies to major industries, including steel and petrochemical plants, during the cold season to ensure a steady flow to households.