New infield wells see Iran’s South Pars gas output hit record

Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said natural gas extraction from South Pars surged to an all-time high of 725mn cubic metres (mcm), helped by drilling new infield wells at the world’s largest gas field, Shana News Agency reported on January 5.

“Over the past 14 months, 13 wells at the South Pars complex have come on stream, bringing a total increase of about 22 mcm per day in natural gas extraction from South Pars,” Paknejad said during a trip to Bushehr province and a visit to energy facilities at Iran’s gas hub, which includes South Pars that Iran shares with Qatar.

Paknejad added that by mid-March, four more new wells were expected to be commissioned under the infield drilling project, which would ramp up output from South Pars by a further 8 mcm per day.

The rise in extraction comes amid an unprecedented surge in consumption during the cold months in Iran, as a cold snap swept through several provinces.

On December 13, the National Iranian Gas Co. (NIGC) pumped a record high of 877 mcm into the Iran Gas Trunkline (IGAT), with around 80% consumed by households and small businesses.

Consumption by households and small businesses reached 655 mcm on January 4, according to NIGC data, about 5.5% higher than on the same date last year.