TEHRAN – Iranian Persia Oil and Gas Industry Development Company signed a contract with National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) on Saturday for carrying out the development project of Yaran Oil Field, Shana reported.

The deal was signed by Reza Dehqan, the NIOC deputy director for development and engineering affairs, and Seyed Jafar Hejazi, the

managing director of Persia Oil and Gas Industry Development Company, at the presence of Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh.

As reported, the contract targets additional cumulative production of about 39.5 million barrels over 10 years.

The direct investment in the projects is estimated at $227 million while operating costs during the contract period are estimated to amount to $236 million; the contractor is obliged to provide all the necessary financial resources for the implementation of the project.

Based on the deal, the contractor is going to drill six new wells (three in North Yaran and three in South Yaran), as well as a descriptive well, a water injection well, while repairing five existing wells, equipping 27 wells with electrical submersible pumps (ESP), construction and upgrading of surface facilities, conducting research studies and designing new methods for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR).

Yaran is one of the five oilfields known as West Karoun oilfields which Iran shares with Iraq at the western part of Iran’s southwestern region of Karoun.

The field, which is divided into two parts namely North Yaran and South Yaran, lies 120 kilometers west of Ahwaz, the capital city of the southwestern province of Khuzestan, on the borderline with Iraq.

It is adjacent to Azadegan Field in the east and Iraq’s Majnoon Field in the west.

West Karoun region which includes five major fields namely North Azadegan, South Azadegan, North Yaran, South Yaran, and Yadavaran prioritized among the country’s top development projects.

Providing the condition for the presence of the private sector in development projects is now an agenda for the NIOC.

In the development sector, many exploration blocks are waiting for the implementation of projects, NIOC is seriously following up the plans to lay the ground for the private sector’s contribution.

EF/MA