Mapna To Invest Up To $14Bn On Upstream Gas Projects
Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh, Managing Director of the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC), told the petroleum ministry’s Shana website on 16 April that Iran Power Plant Projects Management Company (Mapna) has agreed to take over the implementation of the Lavan offshore natural gas project that is expected to cost $5bn over a period of four years. Mapna plans to develop the field to produce 15mn cmd of gas after Phase 1 and 30mn cmd after Phase 2. Mapna said it will use this gas to generate 3.0gw of electricity after Phase 1 and 6.0gw after Phase 2. Lavan gas field was discovered in 2003 near Lavan Island and has estimated gas in place of 6 trillion cu ft (170 bcm) of gas.
IOOC has previously said that the development program for Lavan’s first phase would require the drilling of seven wells and the construction of pipelines and condensate separation facilities. Phase 2 would involve the drilling of six additional wells. In June 2009 Poland’s state oil and gas company PGNiG expressed interest in investing around $2bn on Lavan Phase 1, but subsequently withdrew its proposal in view of international sanctions.
On 20 April Ahmad Qalebani, Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) told a conference in Tehran that Mapna had also signed a preliminary agreement that will be finalized over the next six months for the generation of a further 6.0gw of electricity using gas from the offshore Forooz B field that was discovered by IOOC in August 2010. The field, whose development is expected to cost around $9bn, is located to the southeast of Kish Island, and has estimated gas in place of 820 bcm. “Following the implementation of Forooz B gas field project for generating electricity, a portion of the power would be exported to neighboring states,” Mapna Managing Director Abbas Aliabadi said, according to Mehr News Agency.
Copyright MEES 2011.
