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South Pars gas field is one of the largest independent gas reservoirs in the world lying on the territorial border between Iran and the State of Qatar in the Persian Gulf . It is one of the country's main energy resources.

This gas field covers an area of 9700 square kilometers, of which 3700 square kilometers belongs to Iran . The Iranian portion is estimated to contain some 14 TCM of gas reserves and some 18 bn bl of gas condensates. This amounts to roughly 8% of the world gas reserves and approximately half of the Iran ’s gas reserves.

Presently, some precise and sophisticated projects have been designed for development of 24 phases to produce 820 million cubic meters of gas per day. South Pars gas field development shall meet the growing demands of natural gas, injection into oil fields, gas and condensate export as feedstock for petrochemical industries.

As a result, Assaluyeh and Tombak ports, some 270 and 220 kilometers south east of Bushehr respectively, have been selected as onshore locations for the construction of onshore installations of the phased development of this field.

With respect to the fact that this area lies on the border of Bushehr and Hormozgan provinces on the central northern rim of the Persian Gulf shoreline and is the nearest point to the South Pars gas field, it is of a special strategic significance which can attract and retain capital investments.

Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ) was, in accordance with the cabinet approval, established in 1998 to accommodate South Pars related refining facilities and various activities in the oil, gas and petrochemical upstream and downstream industries and also to render support services to these industries. PSEEZ is bordered from west by Shirino village, from south by Persian Gulf coastline, from north by Zagross range and from east by Chah Mobarak village.

South Pars Gas Field Development Project

The under development phases of South Pars gas field mainly consist of offshore facilities, products transfer pipeline to onshore facilities, onshore facilities, gas transfer pipelines to the overall networks, export facilities for exporting gas condensate, LPG and Sulfur. In order to support the aforesaid activities the following measures have been taken by the POGC: constructing roads, constructing dams for restraining torrents, constructing jetties and ponds; and some other logistic and side projects.

With respect to the magnitude of the projects and requiring more space, South Pars gas field development project is implemented in 2 different sites as follows:

Phase 1 of the development project has been designed and implemented aiming at producing 28 MMscm/d of natural gas.

The objectives of this project are as follows:

•Producing 25 MCM /d of natural gas;

•Producing 40,000bl/d of gas condensate for export;

•Producing 200,000 tons/d of Sulfur for export;

•The contract lump sum is $780 million

•In line with strengthening the domestic industries and in implementation of this project, the share of local players has been materialized by 65%.

Offshore Facilities:

The offshore facilities of this phase are located 105 km far from Assaluyeh port and include two platforms with 12 wells, a process platform, a residential platform with the capacity to accommodate 92 persons, 18 inch under sea pipeline with approximate length of 5.5 km for transferring gas from production platform to process platform, a 32 inch under sea pipeline with length of 105 km for transferring gas and gas liquids to the onshore refinery, a 30 inch export pipeline with 3 km length and a Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) terminal . Gas and gas condensate are transferred through a two phased method.

The onshore facilities of this phase consist of gas and gas condensate receiving and separation unit, gas condensate stabilization unit, sweetening unit, dehydration and demercaptanization unit, adjusting gas dew point and compression for transferring and recovery and granulation unit.
The Buy- Back development project for phase 1 of South Pars gas field was awarded to Petronas in January 1998.phase 1 officially came onto stream with presence of the then esteemed president of I.R. of Iran in October 2004.

Phase 2 & 3

The project for development of phases 2 and 3 has been designed and implemented to produce 56MMscm/d of natural gas.

The objectives of developing these phases are as follows:

•Daily production of 50 million cubic meters of natural gas;

•Daily production of 80,000 bl of gas condensate;

•Daily production of400 tons of Sulfur;

•The lump sum of the contract is $ 2012 million; and

•The share of local players amounting to 32% has been materialized.

Gas and gas condensate are transferred from the offshore platforms to onshore refinery through a three phased method.

•Two gas production platforms and recovery from 20 wells;

•Two 32 inch under sea pipeline for transferring gas to the onshore refinery; and

•Two 4.5 inch pipeline for injecting Mono Ethyl Glycol (MEG).

The refineries of phases 2 and 3 have been constructed in an area of 150 hectares and include the following:

•Four gas and gas condensate receiving and separation units;

•Gas condensate stabilization unit;

•Gas sweetening unit;

•Gas dehydration unit;

•Gas dew pointing, demercaptanization and compression for transfer;

•Sulfur recovery and granulation; and

•Mono Ethyl Glycol regeneration unit.

The contract for development of phases 2 and 3 was awarded to South Pars Total Group (40%),Gazprom of Russia and Petronas of Malaysia(30%each).The refinery came into fruition officially in January 1993 in presence of the then esteemed president of I.R.of Iran.

The project for development of Phases 4 & 5 has been designed and implemented to produce 56 MMscf/d of natural gas.

The objectives of developing phases 4 and 5 are as follows:

•Daily production of 50 million cubic meters of natural gas;

•Daily production of 80,000 bl of gas condensate;

•Annual production of 1 million tons of ethane as petrochemical plants feedstock;

•Annual production of 105,000 tons of liquid gas (propane and butane) and LPG for export;

•Daily production of 400 tons of sulfur;

•The lump sum of the contract is $192 million; and

•The share of local players amounting to 42%has been materialized.

Offshore Facilities:

•Two production platforms, some 100 km far from the shore with 24 wells;
•Two 32 inch offshore pipeline for transferring gas to the onshore refinery; and
•Two 4.5 inch pipeline for transferring Glycol solution.

Onshore Facilities:

•A 56 inch pipeline of 67 km for transferring gas to the country gas trunk line;

•A 30 inch pipeline for dispatching gas condensate from the reservoir to the condensate measurement station;

•Gas and gas condensate receiving and separation unit, gas condensate stabilization, gas sweetening and dehydration unit;

•Gas dew pointing unit, demercaptanization and gas compression units for transfer;

•Sulfur recovery and granulation; and Mono Ethylene Glycol regeneration unit.

The development operation of the above mentioned phases was awarded to a consortium comprising of Eni of Italy (60%), Petronas of Malaysia (20%) and NIOC (20%) in July 2000.The refinery came onto stream officially on April 17, 2005 in presence of the then esteemed president of I.R.of Iran.

The development project for phases 6, 7 & 8 has been designed to produce 104 MMscm/d of gas from the reservoir which is going through its final construction steps.

The objectives of the development of phases 6,7 & 8 are as follows:

•Daily production of 104 MMscm/d of sour and dry gas;

•Daily production of 158,000 bl of gas condensate per day; and

•Annual production of 1.6 million tons of liquid gas (propane and butane) "LPG" for export.

The sour gas produced in these phases is transferred to Aghajari oil field in Khuzestan province via a 512 kilometer pipeline to be injected into the oil wells to enhance the recovery coefficient of the field.

Offshore Facilities:

•Three production platforms with 30 gas wells;

•Three 32" submarine pipelines for transferring gas to the onshore refinery, length of each of which is about 105 km;

•Three 4.5" pipeline for transferring glycol solution;

•One Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) terminal for exporting gas condensate; and

•A 5.4 kilometer 30" pipeline for transferring gas condensate to the SBM.

Onshore Facilities:

Units for receiving and separating condensate from gas, gas dehydration unit, gas dew point regulating unit and liquid gas recovery, gas compression unit, liquid gas treatment unit, gas condensate stabilization unit, and Glycol solution concentration unit for being dispatched to the offshore facilities.,

In July 2000, the contract for developing phases 6, 7 & 8 of South Pars gas field was awarded to Petropars and the first stage of this project came in early 2008.

Gas Sweetening Project Phases 6, 7 and 8 Refinery

With respect to the projects carried out to meet the domestic gas consumption demands, a sweetening plant is constructed adjacent to phases 6, 7 and 8
refinery to sweeten its produced gas.

In this way, four gas sweetening and processing trains sweeten and process 4000 MMscf/d of produced gas, which will be either dispatched to the domestic gas network or to the oil fields to be injected into them.

The development plan for phases 9 & 10 has been designed to produce 56 MMscm/d from the reservoir. The project is being implemented.

The objectives of developing phases 9 and 10 are as follows:

•Daily production of 50 MMscm/d of natural gas;

•Daily production of 80,000 bl of gas condensate;

•Annual production of 1 million tons of ethane; and

•Annual production of 1.05 million tons of liquid gas, butane and propane (LPG); and

• Daily production of 400tons of sulfur.

Offshore Facilities:

•Two offshore gas production platforms with 24 gas wells, some 105 kilometers from the main land;

•Two 32" submarine pipelines for transferring gas to the onshore refinery; and

•Two 4.5" pipelines for transferring Glycol.

Onshore Facilities:

Gas and condensate receiving and separation unit, gas condensate stabilization unit, gas sweetening and dehydration unit, natural gas, ethane, propane and butane cooling and separation unit, Demercaptanization unit;
Gas compression unit for being transferred, Sulfur recovery and granulation unit; and MEG recovery unit.

The project for development of these phases has been awarded to a joint venture of GS of South Korea, Oil Industries Engineering and Construction Company (OIEC) and Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IOEC), in September 2002.

The share of Iranian players in this contract exceeds 60%.

The development project for phase 11 will be designed and implemented to supply the required sour gas to "Pars LNG" unit and recovery of associated gas condensate.

Technical Specifications of the Project:

•Gas production amounting to 2000 MMscf/d from South Pars Gas Field;
•Extraction of 1900 MMscf/d sour gas to feed the LNG units; and
•Extraction of 70,000 bl/d of heavy condensate.

Offshore Facilities:

•Two production platforms including drilling 20 wells;
•Two 32 inch offshore pipeline for transferring sour gas to the main land;
•Two 4½ inch pipeline for transferring Mono-Ethylene-Glycol solution to the offshore facilities;
•Sub-marine fiber optics lines to establish communication between the offshore and onshore facilities and the other phases of South Pars, as well; and
•Gas condensate transfer pipeline and Single Buoy Mooring (SBM) to load and export the produced condensate.

Onshore Facilities:

•The slug catcher and condensate-water separators;

•Gas condensate storage unit and the equipment for dispatching it to the shore; and Mono Ethylene Glycol Regeneration Unit.

The onshore facilities are to be constructed some 135 kilometers from the offshore platforms, in Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ) (2).

The buy-back contract for development of this phase has been awarded to a Joint Venture of Total and Petronas of Malaysia.

Phase 12

The development project for Phase 12 will be designed and implemented to produce 3000 MMscf/d gas from the reservoir.

The objectives of the development of this phase are as follows:

•Daily production of 78 MMcm/d natural gas to be injected into the sixth Iranian Gas Trunk Line (IGAT6) or alternatively to be partly delivered as rich sour gas to the liquefaction units (Iran LNG);

•Daily production of 110,000 barrels of heavy condensate; and

•Daily production of 750 tons of granulated sulfur.

Offshore Facilities:

Three stand alone platforms each equipped with the following facilities:

•12 wells for producing 1000 MMscf/d of gas;

•Three-phase test separator (gas, condensate and water) for testing the wells;

•Two three-phase separators (gas, condensate and water) for water separation;

•Oily water treatment unit for removal of pollutant oil before being discharged to the sea;

•Flare tripod platform located 160 meters from the main platform for emergency de-pressurizing;

•Three 32 inch sea line, 135 kilometers long, for transferring the produced gas to refinery; and

•Three 4 ½ inch glycol solution transport sea line.

Phases 13 and 14 of development project have been conceived and will be designed and implemented to provide Persian LNG unit with sour feed gas.

The Project Technical Specifications:

•Production of 3000 MMscfd gas from South Pars field;
•Production of 2800 MMscfd sour gas to feed the LNG units; and
•Extraction of 105,000 bl/d of heavy condensate.

Offshore Facilities:

•Four production platforms including drilling 44 wells;
•Two 32 inch gas transport sea lines, 135 kilometers long, to transfer gas of phase 14 to the onshore refinery;
•Four 4½ inch glycol solution transfer sea lines;
•A 32 inch gas transport sea line, 128 kilometers long, to transfer phase 14 gas to the onshore refinery; and
•A 20 inch inter-platform gas transport sea line in phase 14, 6 km long.

Onshore Facilities:

•The slug-catcher unit, and condensates, water and sour gas separator;
•Gas condensate stabilization and storage facilities (4 tanks);
•Mono ethylene glycol regeneration unit; and
•Sour Water Stripper (SWS) unit and Effluent Treatment Pond (ETP).

The onshore facilities of this project will be constructed 135 kilometers from offshore facilities in Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ) (2).

The contract for development of these phases has been awarded to a Joint Venture of Shell and Repsol.

The objectives of the development of these phases are as follows:

•Producing 50 million cubic meters of natural gas per day;
•Producing 80,000 barrels of gas condensate per day;
•Annual production of 1.05 million tons of liquid gas "LPG", propane and butane;
•Annual production of 1 million tons of ethane as feedstock for the petrochemical industry; and
•Daily production of 400 tons of sulfur.

'The development of phases 17 & 18 of South Pars gas field is to be implemented to produce 50 million cubic meters of natural gas, 80,000 barrels of gas condensate , 400 tons of sulfur per day, and also 1 million ton of ethane and 1.05 million tons of liquid propane and butane (LPG) per annum.

The onshore facilities of this project will be constructed in Assaluyeh region, some 100 kilometers from South Pars gas field. The offshore facilities of this project include four drilling platforms with 44 wells, two submarine 32" pipelines for transferring the gas, and two 4 " pipelines for transferring Glycol solution.

The onshore refinery of this project is to be constructed adjacent to phases 9-10 in Assaluyeh, in a piece of land with an area of approximately 155 hectares and comprises of four gas sweetening units, gas condensate stabilization unit and its storage tanks, gas sweetening and dehydration unit, gas cooling unit ;and ethane, propane and butane separation unit, desulphurization and demercaptanization and gas compression unit for transfer, Sulfur recovery and granulation unit, and MEG regeneration unit. The refinery required steam, sweet water, and cooling systems are supplied by the refinery logistic units, while the required electricity is supplied by the projects' common power plant.

The Contract for this project has been awarded to a Consortium of IDRO, IOEC and OIEC. The project will be implemented in 52 months time.

The executive operation of these phases started in the presence of the esteemed president of I.R. of Iran in July 2007.

The buy-back contract, for South Pars gas field phases 19, 20 and 21 development project, will be implemented through Iranian contractors and manufacturers’ participation- at least 51 percent of the contract lump sum.
Persian Gulf , and Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ) Site 2 in Tombak.

The main objectives of this project are as follows:

•Production of 80 MMscm/d treated gas for domestic consumption network;
•Recovery of at least 1.6 MMTPA ethane, as feedstock of petrochemical industries;
•Recovery of at least 1.6 MMTPA premium grade LPG for export;
•Daily production of 120,000 barrels stabilized and de-sulfurized condensate for export; and
•Daily production of 750 tons sulfur for export.

The scope of work of this development project is as follows:

•Construction and installation of 5 wellhead platforms equipped with free water knock-out drum (FWKD), test separator, utilities, access bridges and flare platform;
•Drilling 37 production wells; the appraisals wells will be utilized for production after the completion stage;
•Installation of three 36 inch sea lines and three 4 ½ inch piggy-back lines, each 135 kilometers long approximately;
•Two 18 inch sea lines to link the platforms of phase 19;
•Construction of a stand alone gas treating refinery in Pars Special Economic Energy Zone Site 2, located near Kangan Port in Bushehr Province. This refinery is comprised of three similar gas treating trains of 1100 MMscf/d capacity each;
•Electric power will be supplied from the projects’ common power plant;
•Construction of an LPG jetty;
•Installation of condensate export Single Buoy Mooring (SBM)
•Construction of a 25,000 M3 /h capacity sea water intake with capacity of 25000 cubic meters per hour
•Installation of a central sea water desalination unit with 6,000 TPD desalinated water capacity; and
•The required infrastructure.

The EPSCC (Engineering, Procurement, Supply, Construction and Commissioning) buy-back contract, for South Pars gas field phases 22, 23 and 24 development project, will be executed with Iranian contractors and manufacturer’s participation- at least 51 percent of the contract lump sum.

The main objectives of this project are as follows:

•Daily Production of 75 MMscm treated gas for domestic consumption network;
•Recovery of at least 0.75 MMTPA ethane, as the feedstock of the petrochemical industry;
•Recovery of at least 0.80 MMTPA premium grade LPG for export;
•Daily production of 55,000 barrels stabilized and de-sulfurized condensate for export; and
•Daily recovery of 350 tons sulfur for export.

Hedayat Omidvar is Member of IGU Marketing Committee and Head of Communication Affairs with Science & Research Centers, Research & Technology Dept., National Iranian Gas Company ( omidvar@nigc.ir). Petroleumworld not necessarily share these views.

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Petroleumworld News 08/08/ 08

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