South Zagros Oil and Gas Production Company has completed the first phase of Khesht Oilfield’s development in Fars Province, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company said.
"Phase 1 production capacity stands at 9,000 barrels per day, which will surpass 30,000 bpd in the second phase," Mohsen Khojastehmehr was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news portal Shana.
The development project consisted of building units, namely separation, desalting, gas compression and associated infrastructure, to process and deliver up to 30,000 bpd of crude oil per day, he added.
In addition, it has four pipelines, totally stretching over 24 kilometers, as well as 98 km of export pipeline to Bandar Genaveh Terminal in Bushehr Province.
The development of the field, 180 km from the provincial capital Shiraz, started in 2006.
The field is estimated to hold more than a billion barrels of crude oil in place, of which 270,000 million barrels would be recoverable.
Other exploration activities are being undertaken to find more oil and gas reserves in the southern Fars Province.
"An exploration well has been dug 10 kilometers north of Khesht City and 35 km west of Kazeroun," Hormoz Qalavand, exploration manager at NIOC, said.
The project is aimed at exploring oil and gas reserves in parts of Asmari, Bangestan and Khami hydrocarbon layers.
Khesht is the second oilfield to become operational in Fars Province as Sa’adatabad and Sarvestan oilfields went on stream 10 years ago and supply feedstock to the Shiraz Refinery.
Sarvestan is located 110 km southeast of Shiraz, capital of Fars, and Sa’adatabad is situated 20 km north of the Sarvestan field.
Shiraz refinery, owned and operated by the Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company, has a daily capacity of refining 120,000 barrels of condensate and producing 12 million liters of gasoline conforming to Euro-5 standard.
It also produces liquefied petroleum gas, jet fuel, kerosene, solvents, diesel and sulfur.
SZOGPC, as one of the three subsidiaries of Iranian Central Oil Fields Company, is in charge of nine gas fields and two oilfields in Fars, Bushehr and Hormozgan provinces. The company aims to expand activities to the provinces of Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari.
The company is making use of cutting-edge technology, including in the manufacture of pumping equipment, which will significantly help increase extraction from oil and gas fields.
ICOFC, established in 1999, is one of the major subsidiaries of NIOC.
Although Iran’s oil industry has been hit by US sanctions since mid-2018, which reduced Iran’s oil exports to record lows, it has not stopped oil exploration, development and capacity building, and seeks to reach the maximum production of 4 million bpd when the sanctions are lifted.
Expansion activities have continued despite dismal global demand and falling prices due to the spread of the coronavirus and universal lockdown measures to fight the deadly disease.
Authorities say higher production would meet growing domestic demand while it would ensure a quick return to international markets when US pressure tactics end.
