Page 14 - MEOG Week 10 2021
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MEOG                                   PROJECTS & COMPANIES                                            MEOG


       Iran kicks off engineering




       work at Siahmakan oilfield




        IRAN             THE National Iranian South Oil Co. (NISOC)  under a programme to increase the country’s
                         has begun engineering, procurement and con-  crude production capacity by more than 180,000
                         struction (EPC) and engineering, procurement  bpd from 28 reservoirs in southern Iran.
                         and drilling (EPD) work for the development of   In October, NISOC’s parent firm, the
                         the onshore Siahmakan oilfield.      National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC), signed rental
                           Speaking to the official state energy media  agreements for 16 drilling rigs with Pasargad
                         outlet Shana, the company said that the work  as well as Global Petrotech Kish Co., Petro
                         covered by the project includes the drilling of  Iran Development Co., Qeshm Oil and Energy
                         four development wells, as well as construction  Industries, and Petrotenco Co., all of which were
                         of a segregation complex, a booster cluster and  recently awarded contracts to carry out work on
                         oil pressure booster with a capacity of 10,000  oil and gas fields in the country.
                         barrels per day (bpd), as well as a 12-inch (305-  Reza Dehqan, NIOC’s deputy director for
                         mm) gas pipeline and an 8-inch (203-mm) oil  development and engineering affairs, said that
                         pipeline.                            the rigs would be used to drill wells at the Zilaei,
                           The field is located 40 km north-east of  Mansourabad, Siahmakan, Ahvaz (phases one
                         Bandar Genaveh in Bushehr Province and was  and four) and Maroun (phases five and 12).
                         discovered in 1974. Production commenced in   NISOC currently accounts for nearly 80%
                         the mid-1970s, and reserves are estimated to be  of Iran’s total crude output and is carrying out
                         30-40mn barrels.                     a 280-well drilling campaign to increase output
                           NISOC awarded a contract to expand pro-  from southern Iran that began last year. Mean-
                         duction at Siahmakan to Pasargad Energy  while, in mid-2019, it said that the company’s
                         Development Co. in May 2020, covering field  production would expand by around 340,000
                         development through an integrated EPD/EPC  bpd within two years. Roughly 70% of the com-
                         package.                             pany’s project is focused on the south-western
                           This was only announced in August as one  Khuzestan province, with the remainder cover-
                         of 13 contracts awarded to 14 local companies  ing neighbouring provinces.™







       More doubt cast on Turkey’s Sakarya find





        TURKEY           MORE doubt has been cast on Turkey’s so-called  terms. Let us neither underestimate nor exag-
                         breakthrough gas discovery in the Sakarya field  gerate it. The discovery of gas has an economic
                         of the Black Sea as well as on the technological  value. However, drilling one [test] well and then
                         ability of the country to exploit it.  declaring a reserve is not correct. Further tests
                           Initially, Turkey said the field could hold  should be done. Wells should be opened. The
                         320bn cubic metres (bcm), but – as recapped by  reserve cannot be understood from the very first
                         Viktor Katona, a group physical trader at MOL  day. The declared estimates are speculative.”
                         Group and analyst at the Russian International   Turkey, said Katona, would need foreign
                         Affairs Council in an article for OilPrice – Turk-  expertise and knowhow to draw gas from the
                         ish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan subse-  reserve.
                         quently announced in October that the reserve   He added: “The Black Sea has a unique mor-
                         had been upgraded to 405 bcm.        phology. The shallow shorelines quickly turn
                           Katona wrote: “This happened after not more  into ultra-deep waters. According to Wood
                         than one exploratory well, raising eye-brows with  Mackenzie researcher Thomas Purdie, ‘the basin
                         industry experts. The extractable reserve value of  center is deep, cold, and highly anoxic. These
                         the field is highly uncertain which means there  harsh, challenging conditions require specialist
                         is a cloud of uncertainty concerning profitabil-  experience, not currently at TPAOs disposal. The
                         ity.” He also cited energy analyst Necdet Pamir as  Sakarya development will almost be at the deep-
                         saying that “it is not scientific to declare the size  est limits of the Black Sea. This is an ultra-harsh
                         of a field and then simply convert it into dollar  environment.”™





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