Iran embarks on new round of drilling at South Pars gas field

Pars Oil and Gas Co., a subsidiary of National Iranian Oil Co., plans to drill 35 new wells in phases to counter production declines at the South Pars Field in the Persian Gulf.

Hamidreza Shafiei Makvand, manager of drilling operations, told new service Shana the aim was to boost output by 36 MMcm over the next three years.

The wells will be drilled from 17 existing platforms. Petroiran Development Co., North Drilling Co. and Pasargad Energy Development Co. will each drill nine wells and Petro Pars eight.

The total estimated cost is $1.2 billion.

In June, the South Pars Phase 13 Alpha platform was ready to start producing gas. This was after the platform had suffered severe structural damage after being struck by a commercial vessel, but it underwent repairs and renovations.

And back in March, Pars Oil and Gas Co. signed contracts with various domestic companies in Iran for a pressure-boosting project at the South Pars gas field. At the time, 38 production and logistics platforms were operating over the field and 14 pressure-boosting platforms were scheduled to be used to implement the project.