TEHRAN, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Iran has overtaken Qatar in gas extraction from the joint South Pars field, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Tuesday.
"At present, Iran extracts 710 million cubic meters (mcm) of natural gas per day from the South Pars field, while Qatar's extraction stands at close to 650 mcm per day," Fars quoted Managing Director of Iran's Pars Special Economic Energy Zone Sekhavat Asadi as saying.
Asadi said Iran had built 14 refineries in the field, which accounted for between 70 and 75 percent of the country's entire gas production.
The South Pars gas field, known as the North Dome in Qatar, is the world's largest natural gas field located in the waters between Iran and Qatar.
According to the International Energy Agency, the field holds an estimated 1,800 trillion cubic feet (51 trillion cubic meters) of in-situ natural gas and some 50 billion barrels (7.9 billion cubic meters) of natural gas condensates. ■
