Iran Starts Laying South Pars Phase 1 Offshore Pipeline

VOL. XLV

No 27

8-July-2002

IRAN

Iran Starts Laying South Pars Phase 1 Offshore Pipeline

Domestic contractor Iran Maritime Installations Construction and Engineering Company has begun laying the pipeline from the South Pars Phase 1 development in the Gulf to the gas processing plant at Assaluyeh. A report by official news agency IRNA on 1 July described the operation as the first offshore gas pipelaying project to be carried out according to Iranian engineering plans. South Pars Phase 1 development is being undertaken by Iranian firm Petropars, but the project has suffered severe delays. TotalFinaElf brought the Phases 2 and 3 development on-stream earlier this year (MEES, 18 March).

The report quoted an Iran Maritime Installations Construction and Engineering Company official as saying that offshore operations would include installation of a 120km/32in pipeline from the offshore platform to the onshore processing plant using the Abuzar 1200 pipelay vessel. He said the vessel was a multi-purpose offshore installation unit capable of lifting up to 1,200 tons, and of laying 8-60in diameter pipeline sections at a depth of 100ms at a rate of up to 1.5km/day. The company was said to have bid for pipelay projects in Abuzar and Salman oilfields and Phases 9 and 10 of the South Pars gasfield development.

At the recent Iran Energy Forum in London (MEES, 3 June), Petropars CEO Akbar Torkan said that the $780mn South Pars Phase 1 development was about 85% completed, with 91% of the onshore work finished and the offshore work program 76% complete. He added that 63% of the dollar value of the project had been awarded to Iranian sub-contractors. After early project management problems, Norway’s Kvaerner had been brought in to get South Pars Phase 1 back on track (MEES, 10 April 2000). Mr Torkan said: “Kvaerner supported us up until six months ago on South Pars Phase 1. They taught us how to manage such a huge project.” He told delegates that September 2002 was the current scheduled completion date for Phase 1, but that work was currently five months behind schedule because of problems with procurement of equipment for the platform jacket and pipeline.