Khuzestan Province is set to be developed the oil engine must be started there.”
The minister also said that three percent of new investments in the oil sector is to be allocated to the welfare of people in oil-rich areas. “That would improve people’s welfare, while after oil output hike the value chain will be also completed.”
Zangeneh said so far IRR 10,000 billion budget has been approved for social responsibility plans in oil-rich southern areas.
North Azadegan, North Yaran and Yadavaran are currently producing 85,000 b/d, 30,000 b/d and 115,000 b/d, respectively. Their output totals 230,000 b/d.
North Azadegan oil field is estimated to hold 5.6 billion barrels of crude oil, 279 barrels of which would be recoverable with a 5.6% recovery rate.
Development of this field under a buy-back deal was done for capacity building, processing and transfer of 75,000 b/d of crude oil in the first phase through drilling 58 wells, including 50 production wells and 9 waste disposal wells.
Development of North Azadegan is envisaged in two phases with an output of 75,000 b/d of crude oil plus 39 mcf/d of gas for each phase.
Yadavaran oil field’s development has been designed in three phases, the first of which has now come online. In the first phase of this development project, the objective would be to attain an 85,000 b/d production ceiling after drilling 49 new production wells, 3 appraisal wells and 3 extra water injection wells. Oil production from this field has now reached 115,000 b/d, up 30,000 b/d month-on-month.
In the second phase of development of Yadavaran oil field, the objective is to reach 180,000 b/d of crude oil. The third phase development of this field is projected to produce 300,000 b/d of crude oil.
The recovery of 30,000 b/d of oil from North Yaran oil field started recently.
This field is located 130 kilometers west of Ahvaz and along Iran-Iraq border.
Located west of North Azadegan and north of South Yaran oil field, North Yaran is estimated to produce oil with an API gravity of 16 to 18.
Petroleum Ministry Delivers on Output Hike Pledge
Nouroddin Shahnazizadeh,
CEO, Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC)
Iran holds the top rank in terms of recoverable oil and gas production in the world. This sentence has been frequently heard. It would not be difficult to prove it. According to official data, Iran sits atop 157 billion barrels of crude oil and 34 tcm of natural gas – that is to say a total of 369 barrels of oil equivalent.
Azadegan, the 7th largest oil field in the world, is in Iran with around 10% of the country's total recoverable reserves.
Oil and gas are assets for Iran, but that would become of higher value when necessary infrastructure would be ready for tapping these valuable reserves. This issue could not materialize in recent years due to the toughness of international sanctions imposed on Iran, particularly in the oil sector. Iran also lost its status among holders of oil and gas reserves in the world. But after the administration of President Hassan Rouhani took office, the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum focused on oil and gas production capacity increase as its top priority. To that effect, development of oil fields which Iran shares with its western neighbors was prioritized.
Today, this pledge has been delivered on, thanks to Ministry of Petroleum and National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC); a promise whose fulfilment did not seem possible in the light of tight sanctions.
Owing to endeavors by Iranian oil officials, engineers and staff, this objective was achieved and production from West Karoun oil fields, shared by Iran and Iraq, started.
North Azadegan oil field came on-stream under a buy-back deal with China's CNPC. It started production within 72 months with an investment of $2.55 billion.
According to available data, this field holds 5.6 barrels of oil equivalent in place. With an estimated 6% recovery rate, it has 330 BOE of recoverable reserves. This field has been developed in order to generate capacity for production, processing and transfer of at most 75,000 b/d oil in the first phase through drilling 58 wells, including 43 horizontal production wells, two vertical appraisal wells, a key vertical well, two waste disposal wells and 10 wells for semi-industrial enhanced recovery plans.
The production capacity of North Azadegan field has now reached 85,000 b/d. The fields located in the West Karoun area have a total production capacity of 300,000 b/d. Therefore, the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum has fulfilled its pledge for the current calendar year to March 2017.
It is noteworthy that North Azadegan oil project was developed during years of sanctions and maximum use of domestic capacity has been observed in it.
39 Rigs in West Karoun
Last calendar year, 39 drilling rigs were operating in West Karoun (South Azadegan, North Yaran and South Yaran fields). In case a decision is made for the second phase of Yadavaran as well as North Azadegan fields this year, the total number of rigs operating in this area will increase significantly.