Iran’s President, Hassan Rouhani, officially inaugurated 10 major oil, gas, and petrochemical projects worth $20b in the southern energy-rich Assalouyeh region. The projects included five phases of the South Pars gas field, four petrochemical projects, as well as the South Pars’ oil layer, which came on stream on the 16th of April, Tehran Times informed.

The ribbon-cutting of South Pars’ phases 17-21, which will add 150mcm/d to the country’s current gas output, paves the way for Iran to surpass the production levels of Qatar, which shares half the offshore gas field, Today News reported citing Iranian officials.

The country’s Oil Minister, Bijan Namadar Zanganeh, stated “At the height of sanctions, with the help of Iranian engineers and workers, we succeeded in developing 11 phases of South Pars.”

South Pars is divided into 24 standard phases. Each phase is projected to produce 25mcm/d. The field is the largest known gas reservoir in the world.

In November 2016, French firm Total signed a preliminary $4.8b accord to help develop phase 11 of South Pars, but has since said it will wait for signals from Washington before finalizing the deal.