Increase in West Karoun Oil Supply Capacity

Transfer of crude oil from the West Karoun oil block in the southern Khuzestan Province to export terminals in the Persian Gulf is picking up, thanks to expanding pumping machinery and equipment.

“Two new pumps are to become operational in the West Karoun pumping station in the next few days,” Sirous Aghajeri, director of West Karoun pumping facilities at the Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC), was quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s official news portal Shana on Tuesday.

West Karoun is the name of an oil-rich region in Khuzestan that includes several large oilfields, including Azadegan, Yaran, Yadavaran and Darkhoein with the first three divided into north and south projects. The block holds an estimated 67 billion barrels of oil in place.

“Plans to lay oil pipelines and associated infrastructure to carry West Karoun crude output to southern regions have made 95% progress,” he said.  

Plans are in place to transfer 320,000 barrels of light crude and 254,000 barrels of heavy crude daily from the West Karoun pumping station to Omidiyeh station.

Light and heavy crude will subsequently be delivered to Kharg oil Terminal and the Bahregan port in the Persian Gulf, he said.

Aghajeri added that the PEDEC aims to expand West Karoun pumping capacity to 700,000 bpd and eventually to one million barrels a day.