Oil extraction from the Forouzan Oilfield in the Persian Gulf will increase when the installation of its offshore platform is completed by spring 2017, offshore deputy of the Iranian Offshore Engineering and Construction Company (IEOC) said.
Mohammad-Reza Bahari said the field's offshore platform is scheduled to be installed by March-April 2017, adding that a separate platform containing facilities to house the workforce will be installed by next April, ISNA said in a report Saturday. Iran reportedly draws around 40,000 barrels of oil per day from the joint field with Saudi Arabia, while the Arab neighbor's daily extraction rate is approximately nine times higher.
The official also said the Forouzan onshore facilities are now under construction and the installation of its oil pipeline and jackets have been completed. Located 100km southwest of the Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, Forouzan is one of Iran's two joint oilfields with Saudi Arabia. It was discovered in 1996 with estimated in-place reserves of 2.3 billion barrels of crude.
Production from the field started in 1987 by 180,000 bpd, but declined to 40,000 bpd in the 2000's. The country aims to draw more than 300 barrels of oil from the field within a 25-year timeframe. In addition, gas extraction stands at nearly 700,000 cubic meters per day which is transferred to the Kharg Island via an undersea pipeline.Iran has 26 joint oil and gas fields with its neighboring countries, but a lack of modern technology and budget has hampered development of fields, allowing neighbors to draw the lion's share of underground reserves. The country is also lagging behind Qatar in terms of extraction from the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf, with the tiny Arab neighbor reportedly drawing 1.6 times faster from the joint field.
