Speaking to Shana, Karim Zubeidi, NIOC’s director for integrated planning, said developing joint oil and gas fields in western Iran were ongoing and the fate of almost all of the fields had been determined by NIOC.

He outlined NIOC’s performance in the fields in recent years, saying the activities were mostly focused on developing West Karoon and South Pars fields.

The official said Qatar started production from South Pars sooner than Iran, and it was rapidly advancing, but, fortunately, in recent years, Iran was able to take the lead in daily gas extraction from the field at times.

He said Iran’s performance in the field, given that it is over 60% owned by Qatar, had been defendable.

In addition to the joint fields of West Karoon and South Pars, development of other joint fields including Aban and West Paydar are being pursued by NIOC, Zubeidi added.

According to him, the fields of Dehloran and Naftshahr are other project for which contracts have been signed for production enhancement and maintenance. There are other fields like Azar which are also being developed.

Farzad: a Complex and Difficult Field

"The development of this field has its own complexities," says Zubeidi, referring to NIOC’s performance in the joint field. “There are downfalls from the wall of wells in this field at times and sulfur rises as crystal, so we do not face wells like South Pars in Farzad, and drilling is very complicated and difficult in this field. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, has expanded the Al-Arabiya and Hasbah fields with technology from American companies.

Iran’s Petropars has signed a deal with NIOC for developing the field after almost a decade of unsuccessful talks with Indian developers.