Iran's Abouzar Oilfield Output Set to Rise by 12K bpd

Crude oil production from the offshore Abouzar Oilfield in the Persian Gulf is set to increase by 12,000 barrels per day.

"The field's production is expected to rise via newly-installed platforms," Hamid Bovard, IOOC's chief executive officer, was quoted as saying by Shana on Saturday.

The boost will be fulfilled by the Iranian Offshore Oil Company, a subsidiary of state-owned National Iranian Oil Company, which is in charge of developing crude oil reservoirs in the Persian Gulf region.

Abouzar is located 76 kilometers southwest of Kharg Island–the country's largest oil loading and export terminal.

Crude oil from Abouzar stands at 220,000 bpd, making it one of the most prolific offshore Iranian oilfields. The field's output is transferred via subsea pipelines to Kharg for export.

Abouzar Oilfield holds 4 billion barrels of in-place crude oil, but only 20% of the deposit are currently recoverable through 67 active wells out of the field's total 107 wells.

"To boost the field's production, IOOC aims to start production from two newly-installed platforms of A20 and A21," Bovard said.

The platforms weigh about 1,200 tons each.

"The jackets have been installed by local companies over 22 months," he added.

IOOC is in charge of several other deposits, including Hendijan, Bahregansar, Reshadat, Soroush, Norouz and Doroud fields as well as collection of associated petroleum gases on Kharg Island and in Bahregan oil region in the Persian Gulf, which await recovery measures to reach their potential output.

The move comes in line with Iran's plan to boost oil production from its offshore hydrocarbon deposits.

Domestic oil producers, including the IOOC, were forced to scale back output as the country faced restrictions in exports as well as limited and dwindling storage capacity at sea; but the IOOC says it is determined to regain lost ground.

IOOC started negotiations with international companies to boost production from Soroush and Doroud fields. Production of the two fields fell by 200,000 barrels per day under international sanctions against Tehran's nuclear program which were lifted in January 2016. According to Bovard, 50,000 barrels will be added to Doroud and Soroush fields' daily output by the end of the present fiscal (March 2018), and a 200,000-bpd target will be fulfilled in three years.