The Research Institute of Petroleum Industry has worked out a 10-year roadmap to implement enhanced oil recovery techniques in Ahvaz Oilfield, Iran's second biggest onshore oilfield after Marun, to turn it into the world's largest oil reservoir.
"So far, 15 EOR technologies have been identified and will be prioritized based on the field's state and potential as well as technical and economic indicators," Mohammad Keramati, the head of the institute, was quoted as saying by ISNA.
He added that once prioritized, the techniques will be developed further in cooperation with foreign partners, international academic centers, research institutes and world-renowned companies active in the field.
The roadmap has three main directions: employing modern EOR technologies, boosting production rate and reducing operational costs. Its generic time window is divided into short-, medium- and long-term periods of action.
In the short-term span, problems in Ahvaz Oilfield will be studied and addressed within two years.
The medium-term plans include inspecting the issues pertaining to surface production facilities within three years since they play a significant role in oil extraction and can cause complications in extraction operations, if not properly outfitted.
Under the long-term plans, oil storage mechanisms will develop, while EOR techniques are identified and employed over the course of 10 years.
Pointing out that EOR projects for two large oilfields of Yadavaran and Ahvaz have been relinquished to the research institute, Keramati said the development plan is a large-scale research project that starts with discovering reservoirs and extends to their assessment, as well as using new technologies to monitor their progress.
The Ahvaz Oilfield, located in Khuzestan Province, holds 18 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves and ranks as the eighth biggest onshore oilfield in the world.
The onshore field, also known as Ahvaj-Asmari, comprises three production areas, namely Asmari, Bangestan and Mansouri. Asmari is the biggest among the three production zones.
With an output of 750,000 barrels a day, the Ahvaz field is the biggest onshore production field in Iran, which possesses the fourth biggest oil reserves in the world.
"The project is currently in its primary phase," Keramati said.
