Page 54 - IRANRptDec20

9.2 ​Major corporate news 9.2.1​ Oil & gas corporate news
Iran keeps drilling
Iran adds 420mn cubic metres of gas extraction to South Pars recovery under Rouhani
The state-owned National Iranian Drilling Co. (NIDC) has maintained drilling activities despite the pandemic as Iran continues to be the world’s most prolific driller.
During the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (March-November), the company drilled 82 oil and gas wells. According to acting director of operations Saeed Akbari, this figure consisted of 23 development/appraisal wells, 57 workover wells and two exploratory wells. He said that these wells were drilled to a cumulative total of 45,460 metres at both onshore and offshore locations.
NIDC accounts for a significant part of Iran’s overall drilling capabilities, with 70 onshore and offshore drilling rigs. Over the past two years, the firm has drilled a total of more than 240 wells throughout the country.
While Iran has struggled to attract foreign investors, it has pushed forward with development of its large oil and gas assets utilising domestic companies. Despite concern that the local service sector would not be able to handle these initiatives without outside help, progress has been encouraging, though the deepening involvement of companies controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) means that if and when sanctions are lifted, foreign involvement is likely to take longer than had previously been anticipated.
The NIDC’s drilling update follows the company’s October announcement that it had agreed deals for the rental of 16 drilling rigs for five domestic companies. NIDC's parent firm, National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC), reported that the agreements had been signed with Global Petrotech Kish Co., Petro Iran Development Co., Pasargad Energy Development Co., Qeshm Oil and Energy Industries, and Petrotenco Co., all of which were recently awarded contracts to carry out work on oil and gas fields in the country.
Reza Dehqan, NIOC’s deputy director for development and engineering affairs, said that the rigs would be used to drill wells at the Zilaei, Mansourabad, Siahmakan, Ahvaz (phases one and four) and Maroun (phases five and 12) fields.
The CEO of Pars Oil and Gas Co. (POGC) has said that the company has increased gas extraction from the giant South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf by “420mn cubic metres a day” under the current administration, SHANA reported.
The entirety of South Pars in the Persian Gulf, shared by Iran and Qatar, is thought to comprise the largest gas field in the world. However, the development of the field in Iranian waters has been hampered by US sanctions imposed on Tehran. In August 2018, sanctions put an end to French energy major Total’s planned participation in South Pars hydrocarbon extraction. According to the company director, current daily output stands at 700 mcm, with 37 out of 39 platforms installed and now fully operational across the offshore and onshore sites.
Speaking to IRIB national television, Mohammad Meshkinfam noted the 94% fulfilment of the company's instructed production plan, saying all phases of the gas field, excluding Phase 11, were operational.
Meshkinfam added that by the development of other fields and enhancing the productivity of South Pars, 75% of the country’s demand for energy would still be met from the field in the next 25 years.
54​ IRAN Country Report December 2020 www.intellinews.com