Pergas Submits Proposal for Developing Iran's Karanj Oilfield

Pergas Consortium, a group of international oil and gas companies, submitted its development proposals for Karanj Oilfield, a reservoir in Khuzestan Province.

Bijan Alipour, managing director of the National Iranian South Oil Company, made the statement on the sidelines of a meeting with Pergas officials, including Colin Rowley, in Tehran on Tuesday, the National Iranian Oil Company news portal reported.

According to Alipour, the master plan is centered on strategies to boost output, finance plans and rehabilitate ramshackle installations, which will be securitized in NISOC's technical committees.

NISOC signed a non-disclosure agreement with Pergas in 2016, based on which the latter was tasked with conducting studies on the field located 40 kilometers southeast of the namesake city.

Karanj was discovered in 1963 and holds an estimated 9.6 billion barrels of in-place oil. It was producing 200,000 bpd of nearly 34 degrees API crude at its peak, but is seriously depleted.

"Pergas has made better progress in studying Karanj Oilfield compared to its rivals, namely Schlumberger Ltd, MAPNA Group and Pasargad Energy Development Company, which are also conducting studies on the same field," the official said, noting that as soon as other proposals are presented, they will be assessed technically and financially and the most feasible one will be selected.

Pergas is also undertaking studies on Shadegan and Rag Sefid oilfields near Ahvaz.

According to Alipour, NISOC has been assigned with the development of four oilfields in Khuzestan, namely Shadegan, Rag Sefid, Karanj and Parsi with a total of nine reservoirs, based on a special model of contracts developed by the company.

  12-Year Plan

According to Pergas officials, the proposal involves a master plan to run and maintain the oilfield for at least 12 years, adding that the terms of the proposal will largely abide by Iran Petroleum Contract, including requirements for technology transfer and training.

“NISOC will be the operator. We will be the assistant operator. Moreover, all major decisions will have to be approved by NISOC ... We will have to get permission from them on all important matters,” Iain Morrison, a director of consortium, said.

Client control is probably the magic ingredient in the Pergas consortium’s approach to Iran.

Pergas officials believe that dealing with NISOC directly and being prepared to play a subsidiary role in the operatorship while bringing in the full panoply of international oil company assets inevitably gives Pergas special status.

Pergas is a London-based 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.

It is made up of 15 international oil and gas companies, including Norway's AGR, OiLSERV, an oilfield services provider, the UK's ByrneLooby, an engineering consultancy and Philippine state oil company PNOC. Unlike most international players, the consortium will focus on brownfield projects.

Dozens of foreign and domestic companies have signed agreements to study the country's rich hydrocarbon reserves. The agreements entail conducting surveys in six months, after which the companies should submit their proposals.