The development of South Azadegan Oilfield in Khuzestan Province is expected to be completed in 2023, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company said.
“Upon the project’s completion, the field’s crude oil production capacity will reach 320,000 barrels per day from the current 140,000 bpd,” Mohsen Khojastehmehr was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana.
Located 100 km west of Ahvaz, South Azadegan is estimated to hold 27 billion barrels of oil in place, of which 1.7 billion barrels are extractable. It is part of the West Karoun oil block in Khuzestan.
West Karoun, Iran's top priority for raising crude production to restore the market share it lost to international sanctions, includes Mansouri, Yaran and Yadavaran, as well as North and South Azadegan joint fields. The block holds an estimated 67 billion barrels of oil in place.
Despite the US sanctions, Iran has continued development projects in oil, gas and petrochemical industries.
Former US president, Donald Trump, unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, signed between Iran and six world powers, in May 2018.
The hostile US administration reimposed sanctions on Iran, targeting its key economic sectors, namely oil, banking and shipping industries.
Based on the latest reports, Iranian crude output is over 2.4 million bpd now and the country is set to boost the capacity to 4 million bpd soon, returning to levels before the sanctions hit the country.
On Monday, four memorandums of understanding and agreements worth $275 million were signed between the subsidiaries of the National Iranian Oil Company and the Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research to accelerate the development project of Azadegan field.
Accordingly, Petroleum Engineering and Development Company signed a four-year contract for the purchase of crude oil processing services using rapid processing equipment for the construction of a factory with a value of about $71 million.
The Construction Support and Goods Procurement Department of the Oil Ministry signed another deal worth $5.66 million for a period of two years.
Furthermore, the National Iranian Drilling Company and the Iranian Offshore Oil Company each signed deals concerning operations with ACECR.
