“The first phase of the project will become operational in the second half of the year, with a production capacity of 20,000 barrels per day from five wells,” Badiollah Mousavi was also quoted as saying by the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana.
Located in Kazeroun County, 180 km from the provincial capital Shiraz, Khesht Oilfield is being developed by South Zagros Oil and Gas Production Company.
Referring to the development of second phase, Mousavi said, "The field’s oil output will surpass 30,000 bpd, once the drilling operation of Phase 2 ends."
According to the official, Phase 1 has made 95% progress and plans have been made to expedite the project’s completion by utilizing local resources.
The project consists of pipe laying and construction of units, namely separation, desalting, gas compression and associated infrastructure, to process and supply up to 30,000 bpd of crude oil per day.
The field is estimated to hold more than a billion barrels of crude oil in place, of which 270,000 million barrels are recoverable.
Other exploration activities are underway to find more oil and gas reserves in the southern Fars Province. An exploration well has been dug 10 kilometers north of Khesht City and 35 km west of Kazeroun.
Although Iran’s oil industry has been hit by US sanctions since mid-2018, which reduced Iran’s oil exports to record lows, Iran has continued to increase production in the hope that the siege will be lifted by the new US administration.
Former US president, Donald Trump, imposed economic sanctions in August 2018, targeting key industrial, oil, banking and insurance sectors. In the May of that year, Trump tore up the landmark 2015 nuclear deal Iran had signed with the six world powers.
In November 2018, Washington imposed the so-called “maximum pressure” policy targeting everything that could be hit.
Iran shipped over 2.5 million barrels per day of crude oil in April 2018. Unofficial reports show the figure plunged to 200,000 bpd.
However, Iran has not stopped oil exploration, development and capacity building, and seeks to reach the maximum production of 4 million bpd when the sanctions are lifted.
Expansion activities have continued despite dismal global demand and falling prices due to the spread of the coronavirus and universal lockdown measures to fight the deadly disease.
Authorities say higher production would meet growing domestic demand while it would ensure a quick return to international markets when US pressure tactics end.