Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 24
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has issued a directive to contractors to speed up the development of joint oil and gas fields.
According to the directive, drilling rigs should be relocated from non-associated fields to associated fields, mainly to the South Azadegan oilfield, Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on Dec. 24.
Hamidreza Takaidi, deputy managing director of National Iranian Drilling Company, said seven drilling rigs are currently operating at the South Azadegan oilfield. Drilling operations are now complete by 36 percent, he noted.
Zanganeh has said that the development of joint oil and gas fields is a national task.
"We should place the priority on the development of joint oil and gas fields."
Iran has a number of joint fields with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
Iran has transferred the development of its South Azadegan oilfield to a consortium of domestic companies as China National Petroleum Corporation International (CNPCI) had been falling behind the schedule in fulfilling its obligations.
The oilfield is projected to produce 320,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil in the first phase of its development.
CNPCI signed a deal with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) seven years ago for the development of South Azadegan oilfield, which is shared with Iraq.
Iran's production from this joint field is still standing at around 50,000 bpd, while Iraq is currently recovering 175,000 bpd of oil from its sector of this field and plans to raise its output to 400,000 bpd.