Two new oil desalting projects in Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad Province in the southern oil regions will be inaugurated in February, which will help Gachsaran Oil and Gas Production Company to boost crude production.
“The company's crude output will reach 635,000 barrels per day upon the completion of Gachsaran-3 desalting plant with a capacity to process 110,000 bpd as well as Bibi Hakimeh-1 plant with a 55,000 bpd capacity,” Houshang Seidali, GOGPC's managing director, was also quoted as saying by the National Iranian Oil Company's news portal on Sunday. Underscoring policies to raise crude production capacity and quality, Seidali noted that the units will help the firm raise its oil desalting capacity by 165,000 bpd, increasing Iran’s oil output capacity by 25,000 bpd.
"The initiative is related to a variety of goals, namely efficient desalting, enhancing quality of production, protecting oil resources and addressing environmental issues," he said, noting that the plan has been implemented with the help of state-of-the-art know-how and it complies with international standards.
In the last two years, major oil desalting projects have been undertaken in different oilfields, namely Mansouri Oilfield with a processing capacity of 75,000 bpd as well as two desalting units at Lab-Sefid and Haft Shahidan oilfields with processing capacities of 30,000 bpd and 55,000 bpd respectively.
"The country has developed the technology to desalinate crude oil using electrostatic methods," he said, adding that the method will enhance the quality of Iranian crude. Crude oil comprises varying amounts of water and inorganic salts and sediments when extracted. The presence of salts, especially chlorides, corrodes oil processing equipment. Therefore, desalting has been used to reduce fouling in the crude distillation unit and corrosion in crude processing facilities.
"Electrostatic separation methods are frequently used with crude oil containing about 0.5-12% of water. Electrostatic method involves injection of high voltage electricity to desalinate crude," Amir-Abbas Hosseini, the deputy head of the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry, said.
According to Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iran aims to increase crude oil production by around 200,000 barrels a day before the fiscal year is out in March 2018.
The country's own data submitted to OPEC in December show Iran's production level stands at 3.8 million bpd. Iran has accepted a production ceiling of 3.8 million bpd as part of a deal between OPEC and 10 other suppliers, including Russia, to curtail output by 1.8 million barrels a day to raise prices and bring down inventories.
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