Farzad-B'' is an off-shore

natural gas field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the prese ...

20 kilometres off

Farsi Island Farsi Island () is a tiny, barren Iranian island (Bushehr province) in the Persian Gulf. There is an IRGC Navy base on this island. The island has an area of about and is restricted from the public. The center of Farsi Island is located at lati ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The total in-place reserves of the gas field are around of which around 60 percent is recoverable. The gas field was discovered in 2008 by a consortium of three Indian companies, led by the state-owned ONGC Videsh with a 40% stake; the other companies were

Indian Oil Corporation Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL or IOC), trading as IndianOil, is an Indian multinational oil and gas company under the ownership of the Government of India and administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It is ...

(40%) and

Oil India Oil India Limited (OIL) is a central public sector undertaking engaged in the business of exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas, transportation of crude oil and production of liquid petroleum gas. The central ...

(20%). The consortium had signed an exploration agreement in 2002 for the Farsi block, where the gas field was found. The gas field was expected to produce of gas per day after the first phase of development. Negotiations between the consortium and the

National Iranian Oil Company The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC; ) is a government-owned national oil and natural gas producer and distributor under the direction of the Ministry of Petroleum of Iran. NIOC was established in 1951 and restructured under The Consorti ...

(NIOC) to develop the gas field stalled due to secondary

sanctions against Iran There have been a number of international sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia, follo ...

by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

in the early 2010s. Following the lifting of sanctions after the

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA; (, BARJAM)), also known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, is an agreement to limit the Iranian nuclear program in return for sanctions relief and other provisions. The agreement was finalize ...

was signed in July 2015, the consortium was close to an agreement to invest $US5 billion to develop the gas field. After the

United States withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action The United States announced its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the "Iran nuclear deal" or the "Iran deal", on May 8, 2018. The JCPOA is an agreement on Iran's nuclear program reached in July 2015 ...

in May 2018, and the reinstatement of U.S. sanctions against Iran, the negotiations between the consortium and NIOC broke down. In January 2020, Iran said that it would develop the field on its own, and that it may allow Indian involvement later. On 17 May 2021, the Iranian oil ministry said that a $1.78 billion contract had been signed with NIOC subsidiary Petropars Group to develop the gas field. The daily gas production target for the first five years is , with the gas to be processed at Kangan, and the resulting gas condensates to be further processed in

South Pars The South Pars/North Dome field is a natural-gas condensate field located in the Persian Gulf. It is by far the world's largest natural gas field, IEA, World Energy Outlook 2008 - Chapter 12 - Natural gas resources and production prospects, p.29 ...

refineries.

References

Natural gas fields in Iran {{Iran-geo-stub