Page 65 - IRANRptNov21

PdVSA prepares to offload Iranian condensate
NIOC targets West Karoun expansion
Majed said: “Due to the natural decrease in the pressure of the South Pars field gas reservoir following its production over the last 20 years, the production rate of this reservoir will inevitably decline even more in the coming years, so the company has put exploring the undeveloped parts of the field on the agenda by drilling new wells.”
He added that an appraisal well was drilled on the eastern sector of the field during the last Iranian calendar year and the Ministry of Petroleum expects to receive the results soon.
POGC, a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC), holds ultimate responsibility for the projects, with fellow NIOC subsidiary Petropars carrying out jobs on the surface and subsurface.
The country is home to around 34 trillion cubic metres of proven natural gas reserves, with the supergiant South Pars accounting for around 14 tcm as well as 18bn barrels of gas condensates.
The Islamic Republic holds a 3,700-square km portion of the 9,700-square km deposit that is shared with Qatar, where it is known as the North Dome field. Around 80% of the field’s initial gas reserves are believed to remain in place.
Venezuela’s national oil company (NOC) PdVSA is set to begin offloading a 2.1mn barrel shipment of Iranian condensate this week in the latest ongoing swap activity between the pariah states.
With both governments subject to US sanctions, PdVSA and the National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) last month agreed to a contract to swap Venezuelan heavy crude for Iranian condensate. The first shipment covered by the agreement was a cargo of Venezuelan Merey crude sent aboard the National Iranian Tanker Co.’s (NITC) Felicity tanker. Iran then sent its inaugural cargo of condensate aboard the Dino I very large crude carrier (VLCC), which returned to the Islamic Republic last week with a consignment of Merey which had been loaded at the port of Jose.
PdVSA intends to use the condensate to increase the availability of light and medium crudes for refining, with condensates and lighter grades often used to dilute its extra-heavy crude and make it easier to use. The first shipment of condensate was diverted to the Petrocedeno, Petropiar and Sinovensa projects, which are targeting oilfields in the Orinoco Belt.
According to sources spoken to by Reuters, NIOC may use the Venezuelan barrels as refinery feedstock or a blending component, but it may also seek to sell it to buyers in Asia.
The deal is seen as a precursor to a much broader, 20-year co-operation agreement between Tehran and Caracas, which is envisaged being signed by the end of the year.
The countries’ foreign ministers, Hossein Amirabdollahian and Felix Plasencia, met in Tehran last week, during which they said a joint economic co-operation commission would be formed in the Iranian capital to finalise the terms of the agreement.
“All of this confirms that relations between the two countries are on the rise,” Amirabdollahian said, noting that energy would be one of the topics of the collaboration.
The National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) this week reiterated its focus on expanding production from the West Karoun oilfield cluster, targeting $11bn of budget allocation to add 1mn barrels per day (bpd) of new output.
In comments carried by official state energy media outlet SHANA, Mohsen Khojastehmehr said: “We need around $11bn in investment to develop the second phase of the North Azadegan and Yadavaran oilfields, as well as the
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