Schlumberger to Submit Development Proposal for 3 Iranian Oilfields

Schlumberger Ltd, the world's leading oilfield services provider, will submit next month a comprehensive proposal to develop three oilfields in southern Khuzestan Province to the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC), the company's managing director said.

"The two companies signed a non-disclosure agreement in November 2016, based on which  Schlumberger was assigned to conduct studies on Shadegan, Rag Sefid and Parsi oilfields near Ahvaz," Bijan Alipour was quoted as saying by ISNA on Saturday.

"The agreement was signed in Ahvaz by Tony Bowman, Schlumberger's president for production management," the official said, noting that Schlumberger plans to submit its technical findings to NISOC and propose a master development plan for the three oilfields.

Regarding the benefits of drawing on the experience of foreign firms, Alipour noted that negotiations were held with 33 international firms to cooperate in joint ventures and several memoranda of understanding have been signed.

NISOC is to develop four oilfields in Khuzestan, namely Shadegan, Rag Sefid, Karanj and Parsi with a total of nine reservoirs, based on a customized framework developed by the company.

Alipour said NISOC's model conforms to the outlines of Iran Petroleum Contract, the new contractual framework geared to develop oil and gas projects in collaboration with foreign companies.

"We are fully aware of the terms laid down in NISOC's model of contracts and will do our best to stick to the rules," Bowman was quoted as saying by ISNA.

He reportedly expressed optimism that mutual cooperation would lead to signing long-term contracts in Iran's key energy market.

The deal would be the first in Iran for the Texas-based Schlumberger since international sanctions forced the company to leave in 2010. Schlumberger has four principal executive offices in Paris, Houston, London, and the Hague.

   International Consortium

Asked about other oilfield-study agreements, Alipour said that NISOC signed a MoU in November with Pergas Consortium, a group of 11 international oil and gas companies, to study two oilfields in Khuzestan Province.

"Pergas is still carrying out surveys on Shadegan and Rag Sefid reservoirs," Alipour said, adding that the consortium is expected to submit the result of its studies by the end of the current fiscal in March.

According to the official, NISOC is in talks with Argentinean company Pluspetrol, a leading private exploration and production enterprise in Latin America, to develop and increase the recovery rate of oilfields in Khuzestan.

Polish state oil and gas company PGNiG and Russia's DeNico Consortium are also engaged in talks with NISOC on studying hydrocarbon deposits.

According to reports, NISOC has opened talks with BP Plc on boosting the rate of recovery from Shadegan, Rag Sefid, Karanj and Parsi fields.

The preliminary agreements come as Tehran qualified 29 international companies this month to bid for new oil and gas projects.

The list includes energy giants such as Total, Shell, Eni and Gazprom as well as Asian companies like CNPC, Inpex, KOGAS, Petronas besides Pluspetrol, Wintershall of Germany and Norway's DNO.