The National Iranian Oil Company has planned to increase the output of Azadegan Oilfield in Khuzestan Province to 570,000 barrels of oil per day, NIOC’s director of integrated planning said.
“Development of the fields, joint fields in particular, maintenance of production, overhaul, renovating and rebuilding facilities and additional care to the staff’s welfare are among the priorities,” Karim Zobeidi was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana.
“We have prioritized the resources of NIOC and our main focus is on the development of joint fields,” he said, adding that besides the plan to raise the production of Azadegan field, the company has planned to develop West Karoun and South Pars fields.
“We are due to finalize the first stage of Azadegan field’s development plan by the end of the year, producing 220,000 barrels of oil per day. In the second stage, the integrated development of the North and South Azadegan fields will be carried out, increasing daily production to 570,000 barrels,” he added.
Located 100 km west of Ahvaz near the Iraqi border, 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.
South Pars Development
Referring to the completion of the South Pars joint field as one of NIOC’s priorities, Zobeidi said, “We plan to purchase the required equipment that is at risk in South Pars Gas Field this year.”
He highlighted that knowledge-based companies should be invited to cooperate with executive companies to help promote the country’s self-sufficiency.
“The overhaul as well as the reconstruction and renovation of facilities are to be funded,” he said, adding that main parts of these facilities belong to the Iranian Offshore Oil Company and the National Iranian South Oil Company, for which credit has been provided.
In line with plans to augment gas output from the South Pars Gas Field in the Persian Gulf, operations to drill new wells are underway too.
New wells are expected to make up for pressure reduction in the gas field that will start from 2025 and reduce gas production to as low as 400 million cubic meters in 2032, down 100% compared to the present levels.
Close to 350 wells in SP are acidized and perforated regularly to keep production as high as possible, but this cannot continue for long and the drilling of new wells is inevitable.
Output from the giant field is about 700 million cubic meters per day and will reach 1.2 billion cubic meters per day by 2024 and then a downtrend would begin.
Production is expected to fall by 28 mcm/d, that is 10 bcm per year, as of 2025. Estimates suggest output will be around 400 mcm/d in 2032, when consumption will exceed 1.5 bcm/d.
The installation of offshore compressor stations in the field is the only long-term viable option to control pressure reduction.
The field will not be able to produce 700 mcm of gas per day (the current output) forever and the eco-friendly resource should be used as wisely as possible.
South Pars accounts for 80% of Iran’s gas need and the decline in output will create insurmountable problems for households, industries and thermal power stations.
Despite the US sanctions, Iran has continued development projects in oil, gas and petrochemical industries.
The previous US administration unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, signed between Iran and six world powers, in May 2018. It reimposed sanctions on Iran, targeting its key economic sectors, namely oil, banking and shipping industries.
Based on the latest reports, Iran’s current crude output is over 2.5 million bpd.
With the indirect talks continuing between Iranian and American officials regarding the revival of the nuclear deal and removal of sanctions, Iran is expected to boost the capacity to 4 million bpd in the near future, returning to levels before the sanctions hit the country.
