Iran's Hendijan Oilfield Getting New Platforms

EghtesadOnline: Operations for loading the topsides of platforms 7 and 8 of Hendijan Oil Field destined for their location in the Persian Gulf started Tuesday.

News ID: ۷۴۸۳۰۹

31 August 2019

The platforms, each weighing 1,000 tons, were built by the Iran Shipbuilding and Offshore Industries Company in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan Province, the Oil Ministry news agency Shana reported.

Installation of submarine pipelines and cables has been completed by local engineers and the platforms will be operational when the topsides are in place.

Construction of the structures by ISOIC was commissioned by the Iranian Offshore Oil Company that is in charge of the field, according to Financial Tribune.

One of the richest natural oil reservoirs in Iran, Hendijan Oil Field is located northwest of the Persian Gulf, west of Bahregan District in Bushehr Province.

The oil produced in Hendijan is transferred to Bahregansar platform via a 10km pipeline and for preliminary treatment and refining.

Hendijan field is currently producing an average of 30,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The IOOC is affiliated to the National Iranian Oil Company, which is in charge of Iran’s offshore oil and gas projects.

It is in charge of several other deposits, including Bahregansar, Reshadat, Soroush, Norouz and Doroud fields.

Evading Sanctions

Oil production, including by IOOC, has been reduced as the country faces restrictions in exports due to the new US sanctions.

US President Donald Trump withdrew from the landmark Iran 2015 nuclear deal last year and reimposed new economic sanctions, mainly targeting the key oil, banking and shipping sectors.

Tehran has been trying to evade the sanctions and sell  oil by whatever means possible, including the so-called “grey market.”

Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Tuesday Iran is able to get back to its pre-sanctions oil production level within three days once the restrictions are lifted.

"If the sanctions are lifted, we will raise oil production to the level before the sanctions within three days," he was quoted as saying.

Regarding Iran's oil exports and a rapid increase of oil and gas production in the United States, he said: "Of course, we will certainly continue our oil exports."

US sanctions have caused Iran crude exports to fall steeply from around 2.5 million barrels per day a few months ago.

According to data from S&P Global Platts trade flow software cFlow, shipments of Iranian oil fell to about 450,000 bpd in June from about 900,000 bpd in May. In June 2018 that figure was about 2.5 million bpd.

Iran has had to build a flotilla of oil tankers to cope with the hostile US moves. Provisional estimates show that the floating storage inventories hold 40 million barrels from about 20 million in May.