NIDC to Drill South Azadegan Wells
National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) has been awarded a project to drill 10 wells in the giant South Azadegan oil field, CEO of NIDC Abdollah Mousavi said. NIDC has installed two drilling rigs in South Azadegan, which Iran shares with neighboring Iraq.Mousavi said 40 wells had been drilled and completed at South Azadegan by Iranian companies within the deadline set by the Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC). “After these wells were completed, the project for drilling of more than 20 new wells was awarded to NIDC through a tender bid,” he added. He said that NIDC had won a tender bid held by NIDC for the drilling of another 10 wells. “Drilling more than 70 development wells at this joint field by NIDC indicates the competence of this company in EPD projects,” he added. Mousavi said: “NIDC is making efforts to be more involved in the implementation of domestic projects, particularly joint and regional fields. In this regard, drilling equipment is planned to be upgraded in order to enhance the efficiency of operations.”He touched on the toughness and hardships of drilling operations, stressing the need for the renovation of equipment, application of new technologies, accident-free work and compliance with international drilling standards based on the diversity of oil fields and the complexity of geological formations in Iran.
OPEC Focused on Averting New Oil Glut
OPEC and its allies do not rule out taking further action at their next meeting in April, should oil inventories build up in the first quarter, OPEC’s secretary general told Reuters.Worried by a drop in oil prices and rising supplies, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC countries such as Russia agreed in December to return to production cuts in 2019.The producers meet on April 17-18 to review the pact. OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo, in comments to Reuters, did not rule out more action if industrialized nation stocks continued to rise above the five-year average. “We remain focused on the supply-demand balance,” Barkindo told Reuters TV at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “Our challenge is to maintain supply-demand balance.” “We have seen inventories rising beyond the five-year average. A couple of months ago we have seen a deficit. We intend to ensure stocks remain within the five-year average.” A recovery in oil prices this year will boost hopes among producers that the deal aimed to cut supplies, which began on Jan. 1, is working. Oil LCOc1 has risen to above $60 a barrel, after a dip below $50 at the end of 2018. But oil stocks in OECD nations - used as a yardstick by the producers to gauge the effectiveness of their supply cuts - were above the five-year average in November.
Hydrochloric Acid Produced for Refineries
Bandar Abbas oil refinery, for the first time in Iran, has produced hydrochloric acid (HCL) with high purity and pressure to be used at refineries and petrochemical plants.“Achieving this breakthrough will put an end to dependence on foreign countries for HCL supply in addition to saving money and accelerating refining processes,” Hashem Namvar, CEO of Bandar Abbas oil refinery, said. “The isomerization section is a vital and sensitive division at refineries, whose main product is isomerate, a key component of Euro-5 gasoline,” he said, adding that the most significant step in this section would be acidizing with HCL before using catalysts in reactors.Namvar said Bandar Abbas Oil Refining Company was the only producer of HCL for isomerization units. “Due to limited time for launching the isomerization unit and producing high-quality gasoline, the product was designed and produced within three weeks and without investment by a 50-member group of refinery experts,” he added. Namvar said in Asia, only China and India could produce the HCL complying with criteria set for oil refineries.
IRR 10,000bn Fixed-Rate Bonds Issued
The head of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has announced the beginning of fixed rate bonds worth IRR 10,000 billion by the state-run firm to finance oil recovery enhancement projects. Masoud Karbaisan said the bonds, which are expected to finance partly oil production maintenance and enhancement projects, would have a 19% annual interest rates. The lock-up period is three years and the interests are paid every six months.“These bonds are printed by Saba Arvand