Iran has begun gas production at Phase 11 of South Pars, the world’s largest gas field, according to the CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).

“The gas from this phase has been sent to the refinery through marine pipelines in the past few days,” Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr told IRNA’s economics correspondent.

He said Phase 11 of the gas field, as a strategic project, was placed on the agenda of the NIOC under the Raisi administration.

“The efforts of my colleagues at the National Iranian Oil Company paid off, and now, we are seeing production from four wells at Phase 11 of South Pars,” said the official.

“Phase 11 of South Pars is ready to be officially inaugurated with the presence of the president and the oil minister, and it will soon be put into operation with the presence of authorities,” he added.

Khojasteh-Mehr also said the NIOC managed to compensate for a 20-year delay and complete the phase in the last 20 months.

France’s Total and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) pulled out of development plans for Phase 11 of South Pars after the United States imposed unilateral sanctions against Iran in 2018