Iran ups production from joint oil field with UAE

/By AzerNews/

By Sara Rajabova

Iran has increased the oil production from the joint oil field which it shares with the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf.

Abbas Rajab-Khani, official in charge of the Iranian Offshore Oil Company’s operations in Lavan region said the company has succeeded to increase crude oil production from Salman oil field, Iranian media reported.

He added that the production hike came after the company took steps for the development of the field.

Rajab-Khani said drilling new wells and repairing inactive wells for new production were among major steps taken by the company to develop the offshore field.

Salman, located near the Iranian island of Lavan in the Persian Gulf, is an old field in service since 1968 with about 1.6 billion barrels of recoverable reserves. It is currently estimated to hold more than 500 million barrels of oil.

About 70 percent of the field is owned by Iran and the remaining 30 percent is under ownership of the United Arab Emirates.

Rajab-Khani said in line with the company’s plan, three drilling rigs are currently operating in the field, drilling new wells or repairing wells that are not currently producing oil.

He added that five new wells have been already drilled in the field, adding that after completion of the fifth well, production from the joint field has increased by 7,000 barrels per day.

The platforms on the Salman oilfield are some of the biggest in the Persian Gulf with a capacity to produce 220,000 bpd of oil and associated products. They also include gas recovery facilities.

Iran’s recovery of oil from Salman comes from 44 wells which have yielded 700 million barrels so far. A 22-inch pipe takes the offshore oil to the Lavan island 144 km away for processing or exports.

During recent years, Iran has been taking steps to development hydrocarbon fields it shares with neighboring countries, especially those located in the Persian Gulf.

The UAE, which calls it Abu al-Khosh on its side in Abu Dhabi has recovered 400 million barrels so far.