Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad made the remarks Thursday at a ceremony inaugurating the second train of the South Azadegan joint field’s Central Treatment and Export Plant (CTEP), which was officially commissioned by President Masoud Pezeshkian via videoconference.

Paknejad said the president’s participation in the event boosted morale among oil industry workers involved in advancing development projects. He stressed that reliance on domestic capabilities has consistently delivered significant results, adding that expanding oil and gas production depends on securing financing and on the operational and technical capacity of project executors.

On financing, Paknejad said proposals submitted in recent months are under review by relevant authorities and expert bodies, expressing hope for swift approval. On execution, he said managers and specialists, working with domestic manufacturers and capable local companies, can meet most project needs.

South Azadegan output up more than 50,000 bpd

Paknejad said Petropars, the general contractor at South Azadegan, has increased production by more than 50,000 barrels per day over the past 14 months. As an EPC contractor, the company has completed two CTEP processing trains under the supervision of the National Iranian Oil Company and the Petroleum Engineering and Development Company.

He said the South Azadegan CTEP is the country’s largest oil and gas processing facility, comprising four processing trains with a combined crude capacity of 320,000 bpd — 80,000 bpd per train — and about 200 million cubic feet per day of associated gas. Part of that gas is currently flared due to incomplete processing capacity.

Paknejad said the goal is to collect all associated gas by the end of the Iranian year 1405 (March 2027) and send it to the Hoveyzeh Persian Gulf Gas Refinery (NGL 3200), completing the refinery’s capacity and preventing flaring.

Processing completion key to sustainable production

He described the project as a critical piece of West Karun infrastructure, saying completion of all processing trains will secure sustainable production and unlock capacity at other regional fields. The facility includes crude processing, associated gas collection and pressure boosting.

The first oil processing train came online earlier this year. With the second train now operational, total crude processing capacity has reached about 160,000 bpd. The remaining two trains are expected to be commissioned in coming months, potentially by year’s end or, more conservatively, by June next year, he said.

Paknejad said that of 190 wells drilled at South Azadegan, 160 are producing an average of 180,000 bpd. Output is expected to rise to 190,000 bpd by year’s end, bringing total production growth to more than 62,000 bpd over roughly 14 months.

Operational flexibility and gas plans

He said production fluids are received at two gas and oil separation plants in the field’s northern and southern sections, each with 160,000 bpd capacity, before being transported via pipelines to the CTEP.

One benefit of the new unit, Paknejad said, is freeing up about 60,000 bpd of capacity at other processing facilities, enabling higher production from nearby fields through new drilling and well workovers.

He added that plans are in place to collect about 5.6 million cubic meters per day of associated gas from the field and send it to NGL 3200, with completion targeted by the end of 1405, though efforts are underway to accelerate the timeline.

Jobs created

During construction, the project created jobs for an average of 1,500 direct workers and more than 2,500 indirect workers through contractors and domestic manufacturers, Paknejad said. Once operational, it will provide stable employment for about 700 local residents in Khuzestan province.

Paknejad thanked the president for his support and praised teams at the National Iranian Oil Co., the Petroleum Engineering and Development Co., and Petropars for completing the project despite challenges, calling it a significant step toward sustainable national oil production and improved recovery from shared fields.