Tehran, Iran, October 17
By Mehdi Sepahvand, Dalga Khatinoglu - Trend:
Currently only Denmark's Maersk Group has proposed Iran to develop its energy blocks in Caspian Sea, but the talks haven’t reached any result, Ali Kardor, managing director of Iranian National Oil Company told Trend Oct.17.
Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh told reporters Jan. 5 that Maersk Group wants to develop Iran's deepwater hydrocarbon reserves in the Caspian Sea.
Maersk Group confirmed on Jan. 5 that it confirms energy-related negotiations with Iran, adding that "nothing has been agreed and we cannot share further details".
Coming to Caspian Sea, Iran has several projects to offer to the Maersk Group.
On the other hand, Maersk has the experience regarding drilling works in the Caspian Sea. The company has delivered a highly efficient deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig in Azerbaijan - the first drilling rig in the Caspian Sea for Maersk contractors. The rig named 'LIDER' was unveiled in Baku on July 24, 2003.
The 'LIDER' is the largest and most powerful drilling rig in the Caspian Sea capable of drilling in water depths from 75 to 1,000 meters, which enables the rig to operate in approximately 40 percent of the Caspian Sea.
Meanwhile in November, Iran introduced newly designed oil and gas contract, called the Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC), offering 50 fields for foreigners to participate in them.
Iran has offered four projects in the Caspian Sea, blocks 24, 26 and 29, as well as the Sardar-e Jangal oil field to foreigners for exploration and development.
Iran has divided its exploration area in the Caspian Sea to 46 blocks, eight of which are of high priority. Iran has previously carried out 3D seismic operations in 4,000 square kilometers of the Caspian Sea at blocks 6, 7, 8 and 21 from 2003 to 2005.
Iran also announced in 2012 that while drilling a 1,000-metre well below the surface of the Caspian Sea by the Amir Kabir drilling rig, the country found a gas field at the depth of 700 meters. A year later, Tehran announced the field (Sardar-e Jangal) was in fact an oil field with a gas layer.
Below are the technical details of the above mentioned fields:
Sardar-e Jangal - This field is located at block 6 with dimensions of 24 x 6 kilometers in 750 meters water depth. Iran has drilled two exploration wells and reportedly the field holds two billion barrels of crude oil, with an API of 39.
Blocks 24, 26, and 29 - Block 24 is located 130 kilometers north of the Nowshahr port and has a depth of 600-800 meters and a 200-square-kilometer area.
Block 26 is situated 100 kilometers north-east of the Anzali port and has a depth of 850-900 meters and a 384-square-kilometre area.
Block 29 is also located 135 km north of the Nowshahr port and has a depth of 800 meters and an area of 1028 square kilometers.