Now, West Karoun area has been proven to be holding huge oil reserves and Jofair field is an important reservoir there.

Most fields located in West Karoun are shared with Iraq, but Jofair is an independent one and owned fully by Iran. 

Jofair oil field has also several gas layers. Natural gas production from this field stands at 6.3 mcf/d. Administered by Arvandan Oil and gas Production Company, Jofair development has been assigned to Petroiran Development Company (PEDCO). It means that foreign companies willing to invest in Iran must seek partnership with PEDCO under IPC deals. Four exploration wells were drilled in Jofair through 1975 to 1978. Three reservoirs- Ilam, Sarvak and Gadovan-were identified then. 

Of the 2.1 billion barrels of oil in place in Jofair, 89% belongs to Ilam, 6% to Sarvak and 5% to Gadovan. It contains 95% heavy crude oil and 5% light crude. The heavy crude oil is 23 degrees API.

3-Phase Development

Early production aside, development of Jofair has three phases. Early production is at the rate of 6 tb/d, the first phase has the rate of 15 tb/d, while the second and the third phases will be 25 tb/d and 50 tb/d, respectively.

Analyzing 3D seismic data, reservoir studies, drilling and completion of two production wells as well as workover and completion of two wells, laying out 40 kilometers of pipeline and installation of crude oil logging installations are among activities related to early production from Jofair. In addition to formulating master development plan (MDP), PEDCO has to handle workover of wells with downhole pumps. That would raise production from this field without having to spud new wells. Development of Jofair had initially been assigned to Belarus’ state oil company (BNK) under a September 2007 agreement worth half a billion dollars. But the project was halted due to the Belarusian Company’s failure to bring production from Jofair to 3,500 b/d. After four years, it had only brought the output to 2,800 b/d. Since the project is held equally by PEDCO and BNK the foreign entity was expropriated. Currently, PEDCO is doing the job alone.

In the area where Jofair is located it is still possible to discover more reserves because production from the primary layers has started and more precise exploration studies are likely to produce more surprising figures in other layers.

A total of 13 oil fields have been marked in West Karoun area. Chief among them are Azadegan, Yadavaran, Darkhoein, Jofair, Band Karkheh, Sousangerd, Moshtaq, Khorramshahr and Omid.

The main oil production layers in West Karoun are Sarvak with 9.88 billion barrels of oil in place, Kajdomi with 1.26 billion barrels, Gadovan with 370 million barrels and Fahlian with 2.332 billion barrels. The recovery rate from these fields is estimated at 6.15%.

Initial estimates indicate that the value of products from West Karoun area would be at least at 135 billion dollars even if oil price is held at around $45. This figure may justify the significance of focus on and planning for this part of the country.

Iran has so far invested around $4.5 billion in this important area, but it still needs $15 billion more in order to reach the 500 tb/d production target from West Karoun. That objective could be achieved through attracting foreign investment and Iranian oil officials hope that the new model of contracts will provide the necessary finances for the development of West Karoun area.

By courtesy of Iran Petroleum Monthly