Iran striving to accelerate development of south Pars

Iranian oil officials said the country is looking to speed up development of Phase 11 of the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf.Pars Oil and Gas Co. Managing Director Mousa Souri told the Iranian oil ministry's website, Shana, that a joint committee would be established with the project's Chinese contractor CNPC. Souri said CNPC would present a program that would address progress delays during the next three to four months. The two main issues were timely commitment of the project and demonstration of firm commitment - if the project were implemented ahead of schedule, CNPC would receive bonuses, he added. CNPC agreed terms two years ago for a buyback contract for Phase 11, covering a 52-month period and involving investments totaling $4.6 billion. The contract's upstream aspects include drilling, pipelay, and platform construction.