Drilling operations at six Cluster B wells in the Kish gas field is 80 percent complete, Nasser Pour-Mansouri, director of Fath-61 drilling rig, said.
The field is expected to go into operation in the second half of the next Iranian calendar year (starting March 2015).
Due to restrictions on Kish Island, which do not allow large-scale installation of oil and gas infrastructure, authorization needs to be obtained from the Airport Handling Services Company, Free Zones Organization, and Department of Environment (DOE) to conduct drilling operations.
"All environmental concerns have been addressed while drilling on the Kish oil field," Mansouri was quoted by IRNA as saying. "Directional (as opposed to a vertical) drilling method is used and once it reaches a depth of 300 meters, it has to be deflective, meaning able to drill in different directions."
" Cluster A wells of Kish oil field, located in vicinity of the airport, are ready for emplacement of the drilling rig," the official said, adding that once the rig is installed drilling will commence within 18 months.
Drilling operations are carried out by National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC), in order to obtain seismic data, evaluate different parts of the reservoir, and ultimately produce gas.
According to Offshore Technology, a 10 kilometer land pipeline will transfer the output gas to the Kish coast, after which a 17km offshore pipeline will transport the gas to the mainland, and a three kilometer onshore pipeline will then carry the gas to the refinery.
The Kish gas field is located below Kish Island, and is the second largest field in the Persian Gulf, after South Pars.
It is estimated to contain 1.1 trillion cubic meters of gas, and 398 million barrels of gas condensate.
The field has a length of about 32.2 kilometers and a width of 22.5 kilometers with reserves lying at a depth of 3,800 to 4,300 meters.
Discovered in 2006, it is one of the most recent discoveries of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).
Meanwhile, Shana reported that the NIDC's latest drilling equipment, which can operate at development and exploration rigs at depth of 6,000 meters, went into operation on Tuesday.
The NIDC owns 71 rigs, in addition to the five offshore and onshore rigs which are on lease. It conducts drilling operations in 10 oil-rich provinces.
