Iran said on Friday that it will take over Qatar in production of natural gas from a key field that both share as it expects a significant rise in production from the field before March 2017.�

Ali-Akbar Sha�banpour, the managing director of Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC), told reporters that Iran�s production of natural gas from the field � called South Pars by Iran and the North Dome by Qatar � will surpass 500 million cubic meters per day (mcm/d) once several ongoing projects are fully developed.

Sha�banpour said the projects are phases 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 of South Pars.

Iran�s current production from the field � the world�s largest independent gas field � stands at around 130 mcm/d, he added.

The official further emphasized that the prospects for Iran�s win in its rivalry with Qatar in producing gas from the field comes as Qatar�s production has been at a fixed level of about 177 mcm/d over the past three years.

�In 2013, Qatar�s production from the field was two times higher than Iran�s,� said Sha�banpour. �Today, Iran has been able to decrease the difference by putting more projects into production,� he added.

The huge offshore field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are in Iran�s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 square kilometers 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 has defined over 20 projects in South Pars � each designated as a numbered phase. Over a dozen phases have been made operational, several will be � as Sha�banpour said - fully developed soon and the remaining phases are still to be awarded to companies.

By Press TV