Iran’s Pars Oil & Gas Company has awarded a $1.4bn contract to build a plant to sweeten gas from the South Pars field, to South Korea’s GS Engineering & Construction.

GS says it won the deal in partnership with Iranian International General Contractors.

The gas sweetening plant is for phases six, seven and eight of the giant South Pars field.

The South Korean firm has previously carried out construction work on phases nine and 10 of the South Pars gas field.

A consortium led by Japan’s Toyo Engineering Corporation and JGC Corporation is carrying out the main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) deal to build gas production facilities for phases six to eight at South Pars.

Another South Korean firm, Daelim Industrial Company, is the frontrunner to win a construction contract for phase 12 of Iran’s South Pars gas development.

According to a source close to Daelim, it expects to win a deal by the end of October through its partnership with three Iranian firms: Sazeh Engineering, Kayson Construction Company and Iran Industrial Networks Development.

The contract, called EPC2, covers liquid processing and utilities works for the onshore portion of phase 12.