Energy
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Loading Commences on New FSU

Loading  Commences  on New FSU
Loading  Commences  on New FSU

Loading oil from Soroush and Nowruz oil fields into the new Khalij-e-Fars (Persian Gulf) floating oil storage unit (FSU) has commenced with 70,000 barrels of crude being loaded per day, Saeed Hafezi , managing director of Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC), was quoted by Shana news agency as saying.

Currently 250,000 barrels of oil has been stored in the tanker, and the transfer will continue until 600,000 barrels is reached. A Korean company has been contracted to make the unit fully operational, Hafezi said Sunday.

Final assessment on the unit's metering equipments, and pumps are currently underway.

Khalij-e-Fars FSU is capable of storing 2.2 million barrels of oil. The FSU, which is to export heavy oil from Soroush and Nowruz, is technologically advanced, especially in terms of its metering systems.

It is reportedly the Middle East's biggest floating oil export terminal.

Currently crude oil produced in the Nowruz and Soroush fields in the Persian Gulf is exported via Sourena, the first floating oil terminal.

Once the new unit is filled and fully operational, all the oil from the Sourena FSU tanker will be loaded into the new unit, after which a decision on Sourena's future function will be made.

Sourena FSU will remain operational, Hafezi added, but said a decision on the exact nature of its future function will be made by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)'s board of directors.

Sourena FSU consists of five oil tanks, of which the largest has a 250,000 barrel capacity, and the smallest can store up to 120,000 barrels of crude. It is also capable of receiving and offloading crude simultaneously.

The long-standing Sourena unit will remain operational if it meets technical standards, Mohammad Bagher Soleymani, the production manager of IOOC said in September.

Considering a large number of joint oil and gas fields are located in the Persian Gulf, such terminals will help expedite oil storage and export operations.

Iran holds the world's fourth-largest proved crude oil reserves and the world's second-largest natural gas reserves. It holds nearly 10% of the world's crude oil reserves and 13% of OPEC reserves. About 70% of the country's reserves are onshore, with the remainder mostly located offshore in the Persian Gulf.

 

Financialtribune.com