Iran’s petrochemical plants capacity to hit 100bn tons

 (MNA) -- Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Ghasemi says Iran’s installed petrochemical capacity will hit 100 billion tons by the end of the country’s Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (March 2010-March 2015).

Ghasemi made the remark at a press conference held on the sidelines of the inaugural ceremony of the Eighth Iran Plast International Exhibition on Sunday.

Iran's vast natural gas resources have changed the petrochemical sector into one of the most important industries of the country, Press TV quoted the Iranian oil minister as saying.

Ghasemi noted that a major part of petrochemical industry is privatized in Iran, adding that the governmental section is not operating in the downstream sector.

He also said that Iran Plast International Exhibition, in which 70 foreign companies have taken part, can help demonstrate Iran’s capabilities in the industry.

Ghasemi went on to say that Islamic Republic of Iran’s natural gas production from South Pars gas field will hit 1.4 billion cubic meters (bcm) per day by March 2016, adding that the current output of the gas field, which is located in Assaluyeh in the southern Iranian province of Bushehr, stood at 600 million cubic meters (mcm) per day.

The minister added that the field is also producing 400,000 barrels of gas condensate per day, which is expected to exceed one million barrels a day in coming years.

South Pars gas production to reach 1.4bcm

Ghasemi says the country's natural gas production from South Pars gas field will hit 1.4 billion cubic meters (bcm) per day by March 2016.

Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the 8th Iran Plast International Exhibition on Sunday, Ghasemi noted that the current output of the gas field, which is located in Asaluyeh in the southern Iranian province of Bushehr, stood at 600 million cubic meters(mcm) per day.

The minister added that the field is also producing 400,000 barrels of gas condensate per day, which is expected to exceed one million barrels a day in coming years.

Last Month, Managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) Mousa Souri announced that 10 out of 24 phases of the huge gas field have become operational since 2002, with each phase yielding 25 mcm of natural gas, 40,000 barrels of condensate, 200 tons of sulfur and one million tons of liquefied gas per day.

The South Pars gas field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are in Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 square kilometers, i.e. North Dome, are in Qatar's territorial waters.

The Iranian gas field contains 14 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, about eight percent of the world's reserves, and more than 18 billion barrels of LNG resources.