TEHRAN – Offshore phases 9 and 10 of South Pars Oil and Gas Field Development Plan have cost 17.5 percent which is equivalent to $70 million more than the worth of the contract, the project manager of Iranian Offshore Engineering Company (IOEC), Nozar Arian announced here on Wednesday.

He said the total value of phases 9 and 10 was $374 million, adding, “The increase in the prices of steel, transportation and the drilling rigs costs and other things have resulted so far in a $70 million extra cost,” he added.

The offshore phases 9 and 10 are currently 67 percent complete and from early September the undersea pipeline construction will be started, he noted.

“Negotiations have taken place, according to which the contractor has been obliged to pay the extra costs,” he said.

He said the construction of 32 inch and 4 inch pipelines is among other operations to be implemented, adding, the pipes required for the project have been purchased and transported into the country.

The plan for the development of phases 9 and 10 of South Pars Gas Field, consisting of both offshore and onshore parts is being exploited jointly by the Iranian sector (58%) and the foreign sector (42%) and the time stage projected for its completion stands at 52 months, the project manager said.

A daily production of 50 million cubic meters of refined natural gas for domestic consumption, 80,000 barrels of gas liquids for export, an annual production of one million tons of ethane to feed petrochemical units, 1,050,000 tons of natural gas for export, and a daily production of 400 tons of brimstone as a byproduct have been envisaged in the plan, a report released by the IOEC said.