Kapeh Dagh Supplies Gas to 6 Provinces
Today, gas is as vital as water for economic development. This clean source of energy is flowing in most parts of the world. Households use gas for warming, while small and big industries use gas to keep their operations running. Ever since exploration, gas goes through a difficult process to reach the ground and be injected into pipes for transfer to destinations.
Various sectors of petroleum industry are engaged in the transfer of gas to points of consumption. These sectors are known as upstream sector and downstream sector. East Oil and Gas Production Company (EOGPC) is one of them. EOGPC is a subsidiary of the Iran Central Oil Fields Company (ICOFC) which is responsible for production, primary separation, transmission and injection of gas in northeastern Iran. Extremely tough winter and summer in northeastern Iran makes working in that area a tough job for Iran's petroleum industry. Iran's northeastern area is often compared with Assaluyeh in terms of toughness of job. In addition to sinuous routes stretching from Khorasan Razavi Province, exposure to one of the sourest and the most hazardous categories of gas (3.6% sulfur hydrogen and 6.5% sulfur dioxide) has doubled the toughness of work in the area. Furthermore, an outstanding feature of the Khangiran area is its uniqueness in northeastern Iran in terms of hydrocarbon reserves. Khangiran area is governed by EOGPC.
Abol-Hassan Mohammadi, CEO of EOGPC, says the gas produced by this company is treated at the Shahid Hasheminejad refinery before being delivered to six provinces. The area covered by EOGPC is 75 kilometers long and 25 kilometers wide. A total of 78 wells are operating. The Khangiran and Gonbadli gas fields are the main reservoirs run by EOGPC.
The Khangiran gas field is highly sensitive due to its 34,000 ppm hydrogen sulfide. Just inhaling 100 ppm could be lethal. The gas field has three formations known as Mozdouran, Shourijeh B and Shourijeh D.
Pollutant carbon dioxide is another gas in this area. It has to be separated from this gas in order to avoid any harm to human being and the environment. Therefore, certain arrangements are needed to guarantee a high level of safety in such environments. The equipment installed in wellhead and downhole installations are safe enough. That is a strong point for those working in such areas due to exposure to sour gas.
Reconstruction from A to Z
EOGPC authorities say the technical services division of the company offers wellhead and downhole services, as well as workover services for fields. At present, workover operations in the fields are done from A to Z in Iran without any dependence on foreign companies. As Iran has long been under sanctions, it has ended its dependence on outside services and most needs are supplied just by reliance on domestic manufacturers and producers.
Domestic manufacturers are now mature enough to be able to compete with foreign producers in terms of quality. That is the main strong point for Iran in this sector.
The Iranian manufacturers' self-reliance and self-belief is a reliable tool for dealing with unlawful and unilateral sanctions imposed by the US on Iran. That has cleared the way for Iran to respond to its industrial needs. Sanctions are nothing new and petroleum industry staff have understood it very well and countered it with their modern ways of thinking. In many sectors, dependence on foreign countries and companies has been down to zero.
Monopolies Broken
EOGPC engineers have recently developed a category of grease in partnership with an Iranian company that may be used in oil and gas wells. The same grease used to be supplied by US and British companies, but due to a switch to domestic manufacturing, production of that grease is currently being done in Iran at a high quality and lower price.
Meantime, after ICOFC conducted 3D seismic testing in the Khangiran field on 500 square kilometers of land, the interpretation and analysis of seismic data by the Directorate of Exploration of the National Iranian Oil Company has now ended. The results of data analysis have been provided to ICOFC, showing the area enjoys good potential for investment.
EOGPC managers always take pride in the fact that sour gas been produced in the area run by this company without causing any death. Regular monitoring of installations has prevented life-threatening accidents.
Maintenance of gas production is among top priorities of ICOFC. Every year, major efforts are made to upgrade the quality of gas delivered to the Shahid Hasheminejad refinery.
The Kapeh Dagh sedimentary area, the region operated by EOGPC, belongs to the second period of geology. The Iranian section of Kapeh Dagh covers 50,000 square kilometers of land in the Khorasan and Golestan provinces. The sedimentary rocks in Kapeh Dagh are over 7,000 meters thick. The thickness of sedimentary rocks and absence of volcanic eruption make Kapeh Dagh a proper place for the accumulation of gas hydrocarbons.
Kapeh Dagh stretches into Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, covering the Khangiran, Gonbadli and Toos gas fields. In Turkmenistan, two oil fields lie in the same sedimentary basin.