Oil extraction from the shared West Karoun block in southern Khuzestan Province has reached 420 barrels per day – a six-fold increase compared to 2013.
Quoting Oil Ministry data, IRNA said the National Iranian Oil Company lagged behind Iraq in early 2016 in producing crude oil from the block but now has moved ahead OPEC'S number 2 producer in West Karoun.
West Karoun includes several large oilfields straddling the Iran-Iraq border, namely Azadegan, Yaran, Yadavaran and Darkhoein, with the first three divided into north and south projects. The block holds an estimated 67 billion barrels of oil in place.
Giving a breakdown on NIOC’s production from the fields, the Oil Ministry said Iran is now pumping 130,000 bpd from Yadavaran Oilfield. Extraction from Azadegan, Darkhoein and Yaran oilfields stand at 210,000 bpd, 50,000 bpd and 30,000 bpd, respectively.
According to Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, the oil minister, oilfields in the Karoun region as well as South Pars, the giant gas field shared between Iran and Qatar in the Persian Gulf are among the priorities insofar as development is concerned.
Officials say raising the rate of recovery from West Karoun by 1% (via enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and improved oil recovery (IOR) technology) will increase recoverable reserves by 670 million barrels and add $33 billion to the treasury based on $50 oil.
The NIOC has been ramping up production over the past few months following the change of guard in Washington and gradual recovery of global oil markets from the devastative impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
In its latest report the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries put Iranian crude output in March at 2.3 million barrels per day indicating a 137,000-bpd increase compared to the previous month.
Based on OPEC data, Iran’s average crude output in the first quarter of 2021 was near 2.2 million barrels per day – almost 197,000-bpd higher rise compared to the last quarter of 2020.
