Iran’s gas condensate export has experienced a 50% increase in the current Iranian year (started March 21), a deputy oil minister said on Tuesday.
“Currently, production capacity of gas condensates in Iran stands at 600,000 barrels per day, of which 400,000 barrels are exported,” Rokneddin Javadi was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
According to Javadi, plans have been made to raise the production capacity of condensates to 1 million barrels a day in the next two years, as new phases in the South Pars Gas Field go on stream.
“This will be used as feedstock in the Persian Gulf Star Refinery and Siraf gas condensate refineries as soon as they become operational,” he said. “As long as these refineries do not become operational, condensates should be exported to target destinations, especially China.”
The official noted that some condensates have been stored at sea in a supertanker due to technical problems in a Chinese refinery.
Javadi stressed that the crude oil stored in floating tankers has already been sold and they will be send to their destinations sooner or later. According to Seyyed Pirouz Mousavi, managing director of Iran Oil Terminals Company, during the first eight months of the current Iranian year, more than 1,800 ships have berthed at Asaluyeh gas terminals.
Condensate is a byproduct of natural gas production. South Pars is the world’s largest gas field, holding an estimated 40 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, or equal to roughly 8% of the world’s reserves and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensates.