Pergas Drafting Proposal for 2 Khuzestan Oilfields

Pergas Consortium will submit its master development plan proposal to the National Iranian Oil Company to develop Shadegan and Karanj oilfields in the southern oil-rich province of Khuzestan by July, the group's managing director said.

“The company will allocate $1 billion to expand the fields in the first phase and if required, more money will be injected into the venture," Colin Rowley was quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry's official news service, Shana, in Tehran on Saturday.

Pergas is an international engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and project management consortium and a turnkey contractor in the oil and gas industry, according to its website. Its operations are largely concentrated in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa.

Pointing to a memorandum of understanding signed with the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) last year to study the fields, Rowley added, "Talks are underway with some Iranian exploration and production companies for partnership. We seek a win-win collaboration.

"We hope the NIOC will endorse the proposal by August so that the contract can be finalized by September. We are willing to train Iranian workers and transfer technology (in upstream petroleum industry) to the country," he noted.

According to reports, the Philippines National Oil Company (PNOC), Iran's Sharif University of Technology and Norway's AGR, a leading well design and drilling project management, reservoir and field management service company, were among the consortium's members that participated in studies the fields' reservoirs.

According to Iain Morrison, AGR's Middle East director, the proposal is being drawn up and will be presented in the near future.

Commenting on Pergas members, Morrison added, "Most of the consortium's firms are reputable and some are active in oil and gas projects for more than a century."

"As the proposal is being prepared, lengthy talks have been held with Iranian oil officials to play a role in the country's lucrative projects. What we are looking for is a deal that will benefit both sides," said Pedro Aquino, the managing director of the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC).

He expressed optimism that the master development plan for the two fields will be approved by the NIOC and a final deal is secured between the two sides.

  New MoUs

According to Gholamreza Manouchehri, deputy for development and engineering affairs at the NIOC, 24 MoUs have already been concluded between the state-owned company and domestic and international giants to carry out studies on various onshore and offshore fields.

“A total of 75 oil and gas field development proposals are expected to be presented to the NIOC, nearly two dozens of which have been submitted so far,” he said, adding that most agreements are aimed at increasing the recovery rate of oilfields in Khuzestan’s West Karoun oil block.

According to reports, Total S.A., OMV, Lukoil, Schlumberger, PGNiG, DeNico as well as Asian companies like CNPC, Inpex, KOGAS, Petronas, Pertamina, Wintershall of Germany and Norway’s DNO are among major names surveying Iran’s hydrocarbon reserves.