Discovered in 1990 by National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and by the Persian Gulf, it is the world’s largest natural gas field shared between Iran and Qatar.
The estimates for the Iranian section are 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in place and around 360 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas which stands for 36% of Iran’s total proven gas reserves and 5.6% of the world’s proven gas reserves.
Total 10 out of the 24 phases of the South Pars gas development project are currently in operation, while the remaining 14 phases are expected to be brought into production by 2021.
The ownership structure of the $4.8bn South Pars phase-11 development project has undergone significant changes following the USA’s decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), popularly known as the Iran nuclear deal, in May 2018.
The US re-imposed economic sanctions on Iran by pulling out of the JCPA, which was in effect since January 2016.
The Iran nuclear deal was agreed between the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, the European Union (EU), and Iran in July 2015.
The deal had lifted the previous economic sanctions on Iran in response to Iran’s commitment to take appropriate measures for the peaceful nuclear programme in the country. Total was the first major foreign oil and gas company to return to Iran in 2016, after the lifting of previous sanctions on Iran.
