South Pars Back in Production, Iran Tries to Recover Energy Sector After Conflict

Iran and Qatar's South Pars natural gas field. (IRNA)

JAKARTA - Iran has begun to restore natural gas production at the giant South Pars gas field after it was previously disrupted by damage to onshore processing facilities triggered by attacks by the United States (US) and Israel.

According to the report of the Iranian government news agency, Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the process of restoring production and processing capacity of gas in the field is proceeding according to plan.

The official, Dehqani, said that so far three South Pars offshore platforms have returned to operation and entered the production cycle.

"So far, three South Pars offshore platforms have returned to the production cycle," Dehqani said, as quoted by Anadolu Agency, Monday, June 1.

He added that the recovery of gas production and processing capacity at the Iran-Qatar joint field showed positive developments.

"The recovery of abundant gas production and processing capacity at this joint field is going well," he said.

According to Dehqani, the success was inseparable from the technical ability of Iranian energy industry workers, integrated production management, and maximum utilization of available facilities.

"This progress is due to the technical ability of oil industry specialists, integrated production management, and maximum use of existing capacity," he said.

He explained that a number of offshore platforms connected to the gas processing plants affected by the attack had stopped production during the conflict. However, the shutdown was not due to damage to production facilities at sea.

All offshore facilities remain in good condition and ready to operate. Production was forced to stop because the gas produced could not be accepted and processed by the processing facility on land which was disrupted.

"Although in a state of full operational readiness and without damage to the offshore facility itself, production must be stopped because there is no possibility to receive and process the gas produced on land," said Dehqani.

South Pars is the world's largest natural gas field jointly managed by Iran and Qatar. This field is the backbone of Iran's natural gas production and contributes most of the national energy supply.

Previously, South Pars operations were disrupted after Israel's attack targeted energy infrastructure in the Assaluyeh region in March. The attack affected the onshore gas processing facility, which is an important part of the gas field production chain.