Tehran, Iran, July 2
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran has sped up the development project of its North Azadegan joint field, which is expected to come on stream in July 2015, Iran's TASNIM News Agency reported on July 2.
The development project of the field is reportedly behind the schedule especially in the onshore section, so the managing director of Iran's Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC), Abdolreza Haji Hosseinnejad, has ordered for an extra effort to complete the project in time.
The field's development project is 10 percent behind the schedule, according to North Azadegan oil field's project manager, Keramat Behbahani.
Behbahani said on May 20 that once the project comes on stream some 75,000 barrels would be added to the country's total oil production capacity, Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported.
"The project is currently 66 percent complete," he said.
The project manager went on to note that 47 out of the projected 58 wells have been drilled in the project so far. The rest will be finished in November.
Behbahani also said that Iraq has started production at the field, explaining that the real figure of Baghdad's output is said to be around 130,000-135,000 barrels per day.
Iran's Deputy Oil Minister Ali Majedi said on May 6 that the country has no plan to expel the Chinese contractor of North Azadegan oil field.
Ali Majedi said that considering the volume of work that has been done in the project, the oil ministry doesn't plan to change the field's contractor.
"The oil ministry has issued a warning to the contractor to increase the speed of development plan," the deputy oil minister added.
The managing director of Iran's Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC), Abdolreza Haji Hosseinnejad, said on May 3 that Iran will take action against delays in development of its joint oil and gas fields based on the signed contracts.
"Besides taking legal action against the contractors, we will not sign any other contact with them," he said, addin that the contractor of North Azedgan field has requested some extra time to develop the field as soon as possible.
On February 18, Iran issued an ultimatum to CNPC over its continuous delays in developing the South Azadegan oil field.
CNPC had been awarded with developing North Pars oil field, Yadavaran joint oil field, North and South Azadegan fields, and the phase 11 of the South Pars gas field. Due to its repeated delays, the company has been expelled from the South Pars and the North Pars projects, and they are on the verge of being expelled from the South Azadegan project.