Iran seeking clarification on South Pars Phase 11 status

Bijan Zangeneh, Iran’s Minister of Petroleum, flew to China earlier last week to discuss cooperation between the two countries.

According to news service Shana, one of his priorities was to firm up the status of the South Pars Phase 11 gas/condensate development in the Persian Gulf.

Although operator Total withdrew from the project following the re-introduction of US sanctions against Iran, the position of Chinese partner CNPC International remains unclear.

Both oil companies and NIOC subsidiary Petropars signed the contract for Phase 11 in Tehran in July 2017. Total as operator was assigned a 50.1% interest, with 30% for CNPC and 19% for Petropars.

SP11 is due to be developed in two phases. The first, with an estimated cost of around US$2 billion, involves drilling 30 wells and connecting two new wellhead platforms to existing onshore treatment facilities via two subsea pipelines.

Depending on reservoir conditions as production progresses, offshore compression facilities could be added during a later phase.

Following Total’s withdrawal, its 50.1% interest automatically transferred to CNPC, as stipulated in the contract, although the latter had not since taken any action, Mr Zangeneh said.

Source: Offshore Magazine