North Pars was discovered in 1963 following implementation of 3D seismic testing. Then, 6 exploration, appraisal and development wells were drilled for the field development. Two foreign companies including Exxon were in charge of North Pars development. That was halted in 1979.

At the time of its discovery, North Pars was the largest gas reservoir in Iran. Investment in North Pars was accelerated until the jointly-owned South Pars was discovered to become Iran’s top priority.

Today, South Pars is in its final stages of development and it is time for North Pars to undergo development.

A brief review of North Pars shows that 17 wells have so far been drilled, while 26 offshore platforms have been installed at North Pars. However, development and production are yet to start there.

North Pars whose production capacity equals four South Pars phases, has capacity to produce 3,600 mcf/d of gas. Such recovery would require drilling 46 wells. The rate of recovery envisaged for North Pars stands at 61%.

North Pars’s gas is planned to be used at LNG plants in order for Iran to produce 20 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas.

National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) officials eye financing and attracting manpower for new projects, including North Pars. The North Pars development is envisaged in four phases, each phase with about 1.2 bcf/d of gas.

The LNG produced from one phase of this field would belong to Iran, while the revenue from the sales of LNG from the other two phases would belong to foreign investor. The foreign party will have authority to sell its LNG to its own buyers. The gas produced from one phase of this field would be used for domestic purposes and injection.

About IRR 12,000 billion is estimated to be required for infrastructure : electricity, water, jetty, access routes, helicopter center, emergency centers and telecommunications.

Geographical integration has been done in North Pars and South Pars, covering a total area of 46,000 ha. North Pars and South Pars cover 16,000 ha and 30,000 ha, respectively.

The Exploration Directorate of NIOC and Pars Oil and Gas Company are jointly conducting studies to have a precise estimate of gas reserves in North Pars.

In case North Pars becomes a special economic energy zone, it would be possible to offer facilities to investors. This issue is currently under review.  

North Pars has also oil layers with an API gravity of 12.

NIOC and Sinopec signed a $16 billion agreement in 2007 for the development of North Pars in four phases, but the Chinese firm pulled out of the project.

Changouleh Attractive Enough

Changouleh is one of the important oil fields in West Karoun region in southwestern Iran. Foreign companies have time and again shown interest in getting involved in development of this untapped field which Iran shares with neighboring Iraq.

Changouleh is one of the important oil fields in West Karoun region in southwestern Iran. Foreign companies have time and again shown interest in getting involved in development of this untapped field which Iran shares with neighboring Iraq. Three top Russian companies and one Croatian company have already submitted their requests for the development of Changouleh oil field which was among the projects introduced during a conference in Tehran hosted in the last calendar year to unveil Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC), the new model of oil contracts.

Initial estimates show that Changouleh development needs $2.2 billion in investment. Such activities as 3D seismic tests, location of wells and infrastructural activities like cleaning and construction of access roads for the development of the field have already been done. The development of the field will start as soon as an investor has been chosen.

Studies conducted on this field indicate that 19 wells need to be drilled for recovery from Changouleh.

Development of this field has been defined in two phases. In the first phase, 15,000 b/d of oil will be recovered under early production plan, while in the second phase the output will reach 50,000 b/d.  

Changouleh was first supposed to be independent, but 3D seismic tests and interpretation of seismic data showed its shared nature. The Exploration Directorate of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has confirmed that Changouleh is a joint oil field.

In the first phase development of Changouleh, which is expected to last 40 months, four new wells would be drilled while two exploration wells will be repaired. Furthermore, a 100-km oil pipeline as well as oil and gas separation facilities would be established.

Under the second phase that would last 60 months, 13 new wells will be drilled while infrastructural facilities along with pipelines are envisaged to be provided. That would raise production from Changouleh to 40,000 or 50,000 b/d.

The section of Changouleh lying in Iraqi territory is known as Badra. Changouleh is located near Azar oil field in the Anaran oil block.

Being located 20 kilometers southeast of the city of Mehran in Ilam province, Anaran oil block was discovered in 2005 by Norway’s Statoil and Russia’s LUKOIL. The block is estimated to hold recoverable reserves of 400 to 650 million barrels of crude oil.

Changouleh oil field lies along Iran-Iraq border. Bangestan formation in Changouleh field is the second most important field in the Ilam region.

Changouleh is estimated to hold 4.3 billion barrels of oil in place with API at 22. Regarding the construction activities of this project, two new wells are to be repaired while two existing wells are to be repaired for early production from the field. On the ground, a separator, transfer pumps, diesel-fueled generator supplied electricity, evaporation pool, flare, stream pipes and wellhead installations are envisaged.

In order to transfer oil that would be supplied under early production, a 130-kilometer pipeline, measuring eight inches in diameter, is being used for delivery to Dehloran.

According to a report by the Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC), with the implementation of the early production development of Changouleh field and assessment of the field’s hydrocarbon potential, it would be possible to implement the major development plan for this field with the objective of recovering 65,000 b/d of crude oil.

According to official data provided by the Ministry of Petroleum, Iran has more than 102 oil fields, 28 of which are shared with neighboring countries. Onshore joint fields are shared with Iraq, and offshore ones are shared with the littoral states of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.

But the problem with these joint fields is that development operations in neighboring countries are over, while development projects in Iran are still going on. Our rivals will not wait for Iran to finish its work for their operation of the shared fields. The volume of these shared reservoirs declines every day without Iran having extracted oil.

In this regard, the administration of President Hassan Rouhani has focused its plans on the development of joint fields whose life cycle is limited in a bid to raise the country’s 7% share of production from these fields. Furthermore, the economic plans of Iran’s administration have created another requirement for the oil sector, which is bringing the country’s crude oil production capacity to more than 5.7 million barrels in four years.

Therefore, it could be argued that the development plans worked out for Iran’s petroleum industry with focus on joint fields have sketched out a very difficult mission for the petroleum industry. With regard to the acceleration of development of joint fields, Iran’s petroleum minister recently ordered the transfer of drilling equipment from independent to joint fields. That promises the realization of the petroleum industry’s objectives.

Courtesy of Iran Petroleum