Offshore staff
TEHRAN, Iran – Drilling is under way on the first delineation well for Phase 13 of the South Pars gas-condensate project in the Persian Gulf.
According to Alireza Arzandeh, director of the Phase 13 development, a foreign contractor is performing drilling operations using a suspension system, under supervision of an Iranian partner.
Arzandeh said the imported rig was built in 2009, and has undergone operational changes over the past three months to make it compatible with weather conditions in the Persian Gulf.
“Beforehand a half-completed delineation well had been drilled in the waters of Phase 13… and upon the arrival of the unit the time for drilling operations will decrease by four months in this section.” Work on this well will continue for four months, he added, with a total of 36 development wells to be put in for Phase 13.
The varying geotechnical conditions at the seabed have also necessitated changes to the drilling and construction plan for the offshore facilities.
Pars Oil and Gas Company’s website, which quoted the official, says Phase 13’s capacity will be equivalent to two standard phases of South Pars. It should deliver 50 MMcm/d of purified natural gas, 400 t of sulfur, 1.1 MMt of LPG and 1 MMt of ethane for use by petrochemical industries in the Asalouyeh Industrial Area.
According to South Pars Phase 12 director Rasoul Fallahnejad, also quoted on the website, Petropars Drilling Company has established a new record for Iran of 538 m of drilling in 24 hours for the 12.25-in. section of the Phase 12 gas wells.
“These operations were carried out in the third platform of Phase 12,” he said.
“The construction, installation and execution of the offshore facilities of this phase are moving forward within the schedule so that the volume of progress in this section has reached 79%,” Fallahnehjad continued, adding that drilling for this phase was around 60% complete.
South Pars Phase 12 facilities are under construction in Tonbak Region, east of Kangan Port, and are designed to produce 75 MMcm/d of sweet gas, 750 t of sulfur and 120,000 b/d of gas condensates. Currently, almost 8,000 people are working on the project, which should start production late in 2012 or early 2013.
09/20/2011
