Opportunities for Investment in Doroud
Iran plans to develop its ageing oil and gas fields, as well as its decrepit petroleum industry infrastructure by relying on the state-of-the-art technology with a view to bringing its oil production capacity to 5 mb/d by the end of Vision 2025. Mature onshore and offshore oil fields are instrumental in this regard. Doroud oil field, located in Kharg Island and northwest of the Persian Gulf, is among developed oil fields that would be further developed by foreign investment and technology.
Two decades have now passed since an agreement was signed for the development of the Doroud field on 1 March 1999. Despite the completion of water injection and oil production in recent years and the continuation of gas injection operations, enhanced output from the field has not materialized and the project has faced delays.
According to department of "Economic and Financial Feasibility" at National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), the investment needed for developing Doroud over four years has been determined. Finance, EPCF and EPDF agreements may be signed for this purpose, depending on the conditions of the project. Costs will be reimbursed from 50% of the enhanced crude oil production capacity over a six-year period.
Doroud is run by the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC). IOOC was the first Iranian company to implement water injection, ESP in wells and artificial gas lifting projects. Already known for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects, IOOC hopes to raise the rate of recovery from the oil fields under its administration.
Stretching on 5 square kilometers, Doroud field has already been developed twice. The third development phase in this field is also getting close to its end.
Doroud’s reservoir is estimated to contain about 7.6 billion barrels of oil. According to the 2000 appraisal, the field holds 2.5 billion barrels of recoverable oil.
Crude oil processing facilities in Kharg Island have been designed and implemented with capacities of 100,000 b/d and 110,000 b/d.
The first development phase in Doroud field dates from 10April 2002, which raised output from the field by 15,000 to 16,000 b/d. In the following years, new wells were drilled to raise the field output.
When an agreement was signed with France’s Total in 1999 for developing Doroud, every single barrel of oil cost $20. Total, which had acquired Elf, teamed up with Agip to develop Doroud field. It was a significant move in attracting foreign investment. Total failed to develop Doroud on schedule, and the project was abandoned half way. However, IOOC’s recovery from this field has proven to be profitable for Iran. The investment made in this field was returned in the first years of enhanced output.
Prior to commissioning the gas injection section of Doroud oil field, many Iranian petroleum industry experts said due to the high pressure from gas injection (6,000 psi) in this oil field and the existence of unknown phenomena in this system, the gas injection section was likely to be ready later than the water injection and oil production sections. On the other hand, the existence of a complex geological structure in Doroud field and the location of this oil field beneath Kharg Island slowed down drilling in the first years of development because doing onshore and offshore work was tough.
Doroud oil field has 12 water injection wells, two gas injection wells and 15 oil wells for development. The total number of wells in this field is 40, and 25% of them are offshore ones.