NIDC Expanding S. Azadegan Drilling

EghtesadOnline: The National Iranian Drilling Company has completed drilling operations at two developmental wells in the joint South Azadegan oilfield in Khuzestan Province, the director of the project said on Sunday.

News ID: ۷۷۸۰۶۷

31 July 2017

“The development of the wells is part of a project to drill 20 wells at South Azadegan that was handed over by the Petroleum Engineering and Development Company to NIDC,” Saeed Nazari was also quoted as saying by the official portal of the National Iranian Oil Company.

According to the official, drilling operations started in early February and are due to be completed in 24 months.

Underscoring that NIDC is using five heavy onshore rigs at the site to drill new wells, Nazari said a major part of operations at two other wells has been completed and drilling at three new wells is underway, Financial Tribune reported.

NIDC has 75 drilling rigs, 68 of which are being used in joint oilfields, namely South Azadegan, 100 kilometers west of Ahvaz along the Iran-Iraq border, Azar in Ilam Province as well as South Pars, the world's largest gas field shared between Iran and Qatar in the Persian Gulf.

South Azadegan is estimated to hold 33 billion barrels of oil in place. It is part of the West Karoun oil block in Khuzestan, which holds 67 billion barrels of crude oil.

Stressing the importance of preserving the environment, Nazari said drilling rigs are optimized with modern waste management systems that would help protect the environment and reduce air pollution.

The giant South Azadegan Oilfield has been singled out as the first field to be tendered under the terms of the new oil and gas contractual framework, dubbed as Iran Petroleum Contract.

French energy major Total S.A., Anglo-Dutch company Royal Dutch Shell and Japan's Inpex are in the race for the field's development rights. Officials say the field could be handed over to a consortium of oil companies.