Iran to launch seven drilling rigs in South Pars by March

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov.21/ Trend F.Milad‎‏/‏ Iran will launch seven drilling rigs in the South Pars gas field by the end of the current ‎Iranian calendar year (March 19, 2013), the Iranian oil minister said on ‎Wednesday.‎ Currently 13 drilling rigs are active in South Pars, the IRNA News ‎Agency quoted Rostam Qasemi as saying.‎ Iran plans to increase the number of South Pars gas field's drilling rigs up ‎to 28 by the end of the second quarter of next Iranian year (September ‎‎2013).‎ The Iranian Oil Minister said on Monday that once all the phases of South Pars gas ‎field come on stream, Iran will no longer need to import gas.‎ Phases 15 and 16 of South Pars will come on stream by March 2013, the ISNA News ‎Agency quoted Rostam Qasemi as saying‏.‏ Iran has attached a priority on boosting gas production capacity from its ‎joint oilfields with Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi ‎said in June‏.‏ ‎ ‎Iran sits on the world's second largest natural gas reserves after Russia ‎and is trying to grow its gas production by increasing foreign and ‎domestic investments, especially in its South Pars gas field‏.‏ ‎ ‎The field is shared by Iran and Qatar. The Iranian share, which is divided ‎into 29 phases, has about 14 trillion cubic meters of gas, or about eight ‎per cent of the total world reserves and more than 18 billion barrels of ‎liquefied natural gas resources.‎ Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az