Stmt Re South Pars Gas Field

Total Fina Elf.
11 March 2002

 
Iran's Offshore South Pars Gas Field Comes on Stream

Paris - March 11, 2002 - TotalFinaElf (operator, 40%) and partners Gazprom (30%)
and Petronas (30%) have brought on stream Phases 2 and 3 of the South Pars gas
field, located at water depths of 70 metres, offshore Iran in the Persian Gulf.

The two phases of this field being developed by TotalFinaElf are the first to
come on stream in Iran. The total investment was $2 billion. The contract was
signed with state-owned N.I.O.C. in late September 1997. The project, the 
largest ever realised in Iran by international oil and gas companies, has been 
managed in close co-operation with the Iranian authorities, the N.I.O.C, project
partners and contractors.

At plateau, Phases 2 and 3 of South Pars are expected to produce 2 billion cubic
feet of gas and 80,000 barrels of condensate per day from 20 wells tied into two
unmanned platforms. The gas produced will not be treated offshore, but
transported with the condensate and condensation water to the Assaluyeh
treatment plant in south western Iran via two 32-inch, 105-kilometer pipelines.
This project encompasses the largest multiphase transportation system of its
kind in the world.

The Assaluyeh facility, which covers an area of 150 hectares, comprises four gas
processing trains, export compressors, condensate stabilisation and storage
units, and sulphur recovery units. The first train has already been
commissioned, and the other three will come on stream before the end of the
third quarter of 2002. The gas is destined for the Iranian domestic network,
while the condensate is sent to an offshore loading buoy for onward export.

This latest success further strengthens TotalFinaElf's position in the Middle
East, particularly in Iran. Present in all of the countries of this region,
TotalFinaElf is the second-largest international oil and gas producer in the
Middle East.


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