An engineering company linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards has signed a tentative agreement to develop three sections of the country's huge South Pars offshore natural gas field, a senior energy official said on Friday. The plan to award vital energy projects to Khatam Al-Anbia highlights what analysts say is the Guards' growing economic role in the Islamic Republic. “A memorandum of understanding has been signed with Khatam Al-Anbia for the development of these three phases,” the semi- official Mehr News Agency quoted Ali Vakili, managing director of the state Pars Oil and Gas Company, as saying. He was referring to phases 22-24 of South Pars, the world's largest reservoir of gas. In addition, the field's phases 13 and 14 were expected to be developed by an Iranian consortium also including Khatam Al-Anbia, Mehr said. Iran sits on the world's second-largest gas reserves after Russia, but sanctions hindering access to foreign capital and know-how have slowed its development as a major exporter. China's National Petroleum Corporation has clinched a $4.7 billion deal to develop part of South Pars, supplanting Total as lead partner in the project after the French firm delayed its investment decision under political pressure. Vakili said South Pars' daily gas output stood at 200 million cubic meters and that this was expected to increase to 275 million cubic meters by the end of September. “With the completion of all remaining phases the figure will reach 800 million cubic meters per day,” he said. Last year, a Rand Corporation report said Khatam Al-Anbia had been awarded more than 750 contracts in construction, infrastructure and energy projects. Qatar, which holds the southern section of South Pars, has developed its side of the field to become the world's largest exporter of LNG, gas cooled to liquid under pressure for transportation in special tankers. Iran planned to replace foreign firms that have “dragged their feet for years” with domestic firms in developing South Pars.
