Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Monday that the country"s daily gas production is going to reach one billion cubic meters (mcm) by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 19) when all the South Pars phases go operational.

"Today, Platform A of Phase 13 of South Pars Gas Field was installed which is the latest phase in South Pars development project and the last platform of this phase will be installed by the yearend," he said after a meeting with the chancellors of oil industry universities.

After the installation of the phase 13 platforms, all the 27 platforms of the giant gas field"s phases will be installed completely and the country gas output will reach a new high, the minister said.

South Pars gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar in the Persian Gulf, covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which, called South Pars, are in Iran"s territorial waters. The remaining 6,000 square kilometers, called North Dome, are situated in Qatar"s territorial waters.

The field is estimated to contain a significant amount of natural gas, accounting for about eight percent of the world"s reserves, and approximately 18 billion barrels of condensate.

Iran to take part in OPEC meeting

Zanganeh further noted that the Islamic Republic of Iran will participate in the upcoming meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which will be held in early March 2020.

He also pointed to his recent phone conversation with the Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak and said, "Russia"s energy minister believes that further reduction in oil output is not necessary before OPEC"s meeting in March."

Elsewhere in his remarks, Zanganeh pointed to the outbreak of ‘coronavirus" and added, "Spread of this deadly virus is the main reason for the fluctuations of oil prices in the global market."

Instruction with regards to combat ‘coronavirus" has been notified in the oil industry, Oil Minister Zanganeh added.