Tasnim� Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said the country will launch four more major phases of the huge South Pars gas field project in the Persian Gulf in the coming month.

Phases 17, 19, 20, and 21 of the South Pars gas field will come on stream during a ceremony in late February with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in attendance, Namdar Zanganeh told the Iranian state TV on Wednesday.

He added that the new phases will add nearly 50 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas to the country�s total annual gas production capacity.

The South Pars gas field, whose development has been divided into 28 phases, is located in the Persian Gulf straddling the maritime border between Iran and Qatar.

It is estimated that the Iranian section of the field contains 14 trillion cubic meters of gas and 18 billion barrels of condensates in place.