Iran will lead Qatar in gas production in the jointly-owned South Pars Gas Field in the next five years, Iranian official news agency IRNA quoted a senior Iranian official as saying on Monday.
Ali Danesh-Monfared, head of the South Pars Investment Attraction Department, said that 40 percent of Iran's gas reserves is located in the South Pars region and a major part of the shared reserves is located within Iranian territorial waters.
Qatar's gas production in the South Pars region is currently ahead of Iran. The region holds 6.8 percent of the world's total gas reserves and Qatar began exploiting the reserves several years ago.
The Iranian government has made huge investment in developing the gas field, the official said, adding that the total investment stands at 27 billion U.S. dollars.
The official said the region will be transformed into a major industrial township in the near future and this will encourage investors to consider the field as a potentially rich region to invest in.
(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2002)
