Baku, Azerbaijan, July 2
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) has drilled about 129 kilometres of wells in the country’s largest oilfield which it shares with Iraq, Manouchehr Assadi, NIDC's project manager, said.
Assadi said that 40 wells with a total length of 150 kilometres is planned to be drilled in South Azadegan oilfield by NIDC, SHANA news agency reported July 2.
He added that drilling operations at the oilfield are completed by 86 percent.
The NIDC has placed 8 drilling rigs in the region, he said, adding that drilling of 23 wells in the field has been completed so far.
Moreover, drilling of 16 wells is at the final stage which will be completed gradually, Assadi said.
The NIDC has taken over drilling of 40 wells in the field from the state-run China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) which had its contract cancelled in May 2014 due to repeated delays.
The development of South Azadegan field requires the drilling of 40 wells by NIDC, 40 wells by National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) and 20 others by a private company.
Iran has developed the first phase of this field. Currently, Iran produces 30,000 barrels per day from Azadegan, but the country plans to increase this figure to 320,000 barrels per day by completing the first phase and developing the second and third phases of this project.