Currently, West Karoun's oil processing and production capacity stands at 480,000 barrels per day (bpd) and this figure is expected to rise to 820,000 bpd by next [Iranian] year (to start March 21, 2025) with the commissioning of the Central Treatment and Export Plant (CTEP) at South Azadegan Field, according to Nasrollah Zarei, PEDEC’s managing director, during a press conference on Tuesday.

Zarei highlighted PEDEC’s significant projects, emphasizing the company's role in both onshore and offshore developments since its first operational project in 2000.

He pointed to major projects such as the development of Soroush and Nowruz fields, phases 1 and 2 of Darkhovein, and the Salman and Foroozan offshore fields.

According to the official, one of the company's largest maritime projects was highlighted, stating: "In the Salman project, 760 kilometers of subsea pipeline as well as 25,000 tons of offshore structures were implemented, making it one of the country's largest industrial achievements since the Islamic Revolution."

Increasing production capacity and future projects

About the plans to increase oil production in the framework of the Seventh Development Plan (2024-28), Zarei said to achieve the goals of this plan, new projects have been defined and action plans to increase production have been put on the agenda. A 250,000-barrel rise for the current year and 400,000 barrels in the next year are targeted, and part of this production increase is the responsibility of PEDEC.

Development of South Azadegan field

Saying the latest updates on the Azadegan field development plan, he said: “Currently, the production of this field stands at 144,000 barrels per day, with the addition of 26 new wells to the production process, it is expected that another 30,000 barrels will be added to the daily production capacity, as well as with the rehabilitation of 20 wells, 20,000 more barrels will be added to the daily production through the well's reproduction and acidification operations.

He went on to say that: "In order to increase the production next year, we have a program to repair the pumps in 50 wells, which is expected to increase the production capacity of the wells by 30%." According to these plans, the daily production of Azadegan field will reach 200,000 barrels with the completion of the first phase.

Development of the second phase of Azadegan field and increasing the recycling rate

Zarei said about the development of the second phase of the Azadegan field that the contract for the integrated development of the North and South Azadegan fields was signed at the end of last year, the development of this field will take eight years, and it is expected that the oil production of this field will increase from 400,000 barrels per day to 600,000 after the completion of the second phase.

He noted that the recovery rate of Azadegan field with 28 billion barrels of oil in place will increase with the implementation of the second phase, which will be of particular importance in the next two decades when oil is still a strategic commodity, and the development of the third phase may also be considered as necessary for this field.

Launching first row of central processing unit

The official stated that our effort is that the first row of South Azadegan’s CTEP, which is the complementary link of the first phase of Azadegan, will be put into operation by the end of this year, and the opening of the second row of this processing unit is also planned for the beginning of next year, as the two remaining rows will be put into operation in the Iranian year of 1404.

Zarei pointed out that in 1404, about 200 million cubic feet of associated gases will be collected daily in the South Azadegan field, and added: After collecting and compressing, these gases will be transferred to the Hoveyzeh Gas Refinery or NGL3200 unit, and with the implementation of these programs, all the activities of the phase 1 of Azadegan field will be completed by the end of next year.

Increasing oil production in Sepehr and Jofeir fields

The official went on to say that one of the most successful IPC contracts that was fully implemented by an Iranian company (Gostaresh Energy Pasargad) is the Sepehr and Jofeir field development project.

Oil production from these fields has increased in the last two months. 11,000 barrels has reached 51,000 barrels per day and is expected to reach 62,000 barrels per day by the end of the year, he said noting that “With this increase, the commitment to increase the production of 22,000 barrels in this project will be successfully implemented.”

Increasing production capacity of Yadavaran field

Zarei said about the Yadavaran field development plan: The first phase of this field was put into operation in 2016, and the development of the second and third phases, which were entrusted to the Chinese contractor, was delayed due to some problems, including sanctions.

After completing the legal procedures, the development of this field was handed over to three domestic contractors, who currently have three active drilling rigs in Yadavaran field, and the number of rigs is expected to increase.

He put the current production of Yadavaran at 114,000 barrels per day and predicted that the figure will reach 156,000 barrels with an increase of 42,000 barrels in the next 1.5 years.

The PEDEC CEO, referring to other projects of his company in order to increase production, added: Another one of our IPC projects is in the Cheshme-Khosh, Dalpari and Paydar Sharq fields as the current production rate of which is 75,000 barrels per day, and we hope that in the next year, Production from these fields will reach 110,000 barrels per day.

Zarei stated: With the plans made in the Aban and Paydar Gharb fields, 10,000 barrels will be added to the daily production by the end of this year.

Development of oil transportation infrastructure

Referring to the oil transmission projects, the official said: The West Karoun pump house and oil transmission lines are among the other key projects of the company, the first phase of this project has been completed.

He went on to say that its second phase, which includes a 42-inch pipeline from Omidiyeh to Kharg, is being implemented and it is expected that the land phase of the project will be completed by the end of 1404 (March 20, 2026), as negotiations for the sea phase of this project are ongoing.

Environmental collaboration using modern technologies

Zarei emphasized on maintaining the balance between development and the environment and stated: This company has tried to cause the least damage to the environment.

In the case of the flood of 2018 in Khuzestan province, about 1,500 billion Tomans ($22 million) were spent by the company for the reconstruction of roads and we had extensive interaction with the environmental officials.

“Also, in operational areas such as Hour ol-Azim, preservation of the wetland ecosystem has been one of our priorities.”

Cooperation with universities and NTBFs

He also said about cooperation with universities and new technology-based firms (NTBFs) that his company is implementing three major projects in cooperation with groups that are operating in this field for the first time.

“For example, the production of the first calcium bromide replacement fluid for well completion was supported by this company, and after successful tests, it was decided to provide the most support to these NTBFs by the order of the CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company.”

Zarei continued: In the projects of West Karoun, especially in the Hour ol-Azim region, using RTP non-metallic pipes is on the agenda, for this purpose, two main contracts have been signed with the producers of these pipes in Shiraz and Yazd.

He also announced the cooperation with Amirkabir University of Technology in the field of building a specialized laboratory of the Faculty of Petroleum Engineering and said: This cooperation includes research and development in the field of fractured layers and acid injection operations in inactive wells to increase production in Sepehr and Jofeir projects.

This project is currently being conducted in a laboratory at Amirkabir University, and if successful, it is expected to enter the operational phase next year.

Supporting domestic contractors

The official highlighted the role of domestic contractors in the development of the oil industry and stated: Two decades ago, the share of foreign companies in Iran's oil projects was between 80 and 90 percent, but today this is completely reversed.

Even in the complex field of marine operations, we have made significant progress and if the problem of providing capital is solved, the domestic capacity is sufficient to implement the projects.

Zarei stated that the government alone cannot achieve its development goals, and contractors, consultants and domestic manufacturers are the executive arm of the Ministry of Oil and other ministries.

PEDEC's approach is to support domestic contractors to realize sustainable development of the country.

Updating organizational structure

 One of the main priorities of the company is optimization of the organizational structure towards project-oriented and increasing agility, the official stated.

For this purpose and based on the plans, we are scheduling to equip the company with the most up-to-date systems and software of the world using the power of domestic companies and technology, Zarei noted.

The official went on to say that currently, a combined mechanism is established in the Ministry of Oil and the National Iranian Oil Company, which works as a real working group.

“We succeeded to raise related problems and issues with this working group in the shortest time, and when necessary, the National Oil Company accompanies us by issuing the necessary approvals,” he said.

This approach has made the administrative procedures to go faster and the implementation of projects to go forward with better facilitation, Zarei concluded.