The oil output of South Azadegan Oilfield has increased in the first quarter of the current Iranian year (March 21-June 21), the managing director of Arvandan Oil and Gas Company, as the operator of the field, said.
“With the completion of maintenance operations in the field in Khuzestan Province, there has been a 20,000-barrel-per-day rise in the output of the company,” Abdollah Ozari Ahvazi was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news service Shana.
A subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company, AOGC manages South and North Azadegan, Yadavaran, Darkhovein, Sousangerd, Arvand, Jofeir, Band-e Karkheh, Sohrab, Omid, Moshtaq, Khorramshahr, Yaran and Sepehr oilfields.
The company currently produces about 400,000 bpd of oil and plans to increase its output to 1 million bpd by 2025.
In line with development programs, another 17 wells will become operational next week.
The development of the joint Azadegan Oilfield is expected to be completed with an investment of $7 billion.
The integrated development plan of Azadegan Oilfield, shared between Iran and Iraq, aims to increase the field’s production to 570,000 barrels per day.
The vast Azadegan field has been divided into North and South sections. The two fields had been developed separately, but a master plan is under consideration for the integrated development of the entire field.
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. North Azadegan is estimated to hold 5.6 billion barrels. They are part of the West Karun oil block in Khuzestan.
West Karun, 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.
Accumulated Output
Recovery from the first well drilled in South Azadegan occurred in 2007. Accumulated oil production from the field has surpassed 250 million barrels. So far, 160 wells have been drilled and completed in this field.
North Azadegan first started oil supply in 2016. Accumulated output has since reached 150 million barrels. Of the total 58 wells drilled in the field, 51 are producing oil.
Using domestically manufactured commodities is among the objectives of developing North and South Azadegan oilfields. In North Azadegan, Iran has a 51% share in commodities and services. In South Azadegan, all contractors involved in the project are Iranian.
Despite the US sanctions, Iran has continued development projects in oil, gas and petrochemical industries.
The US unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, signed between Iran and six world powers, and imposed sanctions on Iran in May 2018, which targeted its key economic sectors, namely oil, banking and shipping industries.
Based on the latest reports, Iran’s current crude output is over 3 million bpd. With indirect talks continuing between Iranian and American officials regarding the revival of the nuclear deal and removal of sanctions, Iran is expected to boost output to pre-sanctions level
AOGC controls 60% of the oil and gas fields shared with Iran's border countries. These fields have become the Oil Ministry's top priority recently, as Iran feels it has fallen behind its neighbors in producing from these fields due to lower investment in recent years.
Iran shares hydrocarbon reserves with Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkmenistan.
Of Arvandan's recoverable reserves, 8.68 billion barrels lie in the shared oilfields, while 2.89 billion barrels are in exclusive hydrocarbon reservoirs.
