Realization of gov’t promises in South Pars

Tehran, Nov 1, IRNA - If we want to avoid recession and increase employment rate, we should activate infrastructural and gas projects in the country, wrote 'Iran Daily' in its Opinion column (pg 3) on Saturday. Past experiences showed that investments in infrastructural projects, especially in the production sector, can make Iran withstand sanctions and other emergency events, added the English-language paper. The Oil Ministry has made serious efforts to activate South Pars Gas Field after President Hassan Rouhani’s administration took office in 2013. Increasing gas extraction from the giant field was one of the promises made by Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh when he received a vote of confidence from the parliament. Zanganeh also vowed to increase the level of gas production in South Pars to equal Qatar’s in the near future. Qatar has been extracting more gas from the joint field compared with Iran for several years. Hence, effective measures have been taken by the ministry to increase Iran’s share from the gas field. In the past, most South Pars projects were halted because of the Western sanctions on Iran and the exit of foreign companies from the field. Therefore, Iran’s extraction from the field did not increase in the past. Another concern was the issue of mismanagement. In the past, former officials had not achieved the objectives in the field, inflicting heavy losses on the economy. But now the current government has initiated cooperation with some countries by using domestic capabilities and this shows that Iran will soon match Qatar’s gas production level. The Oil Ministry can catch up with Qatar by launching new phases in South Pars. Due to the oil minister’s attention to South Pars, its production capacity is increasing daily. There is no doubt that investments in the field will be valuable for the country. Currently, Iran’s gas output from South Pars reached 10 to 11 billion cubic feet per day and this level will increase by six bcf per day by March 2015. This is while Qatar’s extraction from the field stands at 23 bcf per day. Under the current circumstances, it is predicted that Iran’s output from the field will reach Qatar’s level by March 2016. We should use the opportunities and promote development of production projects. The Oil Ministry should also take measures based on the concept of “Resistance Economy” outlined by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and accelerate the development of South Pars phases to safeguard national assets, it concluded. *Abdolkarim Jomeiri is a member of Majlis Energy Committee./end