TEHRAN - The head of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) emphasized the need to speed up the development of the South Azadegan oil field to increase the output from the joint field by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (late March 2025), Shana reported.

Hamid Bovard made the remarks in a think-tank meeting with the senior managers of Arvandan Oil and Gas Company, which is in charge of developing the field.

Bovard also called for establishing effective communication with oil companies in Iraq, with which Iran shares the field, in order to make better plans to increase the field’s oil production.

He demanded a fundamental action plan to develop the West Karun region into a special and unique oil production center.

South Azadegan oilfield is located 80 kilometers west of Ahvaz (the capital city of Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province), near the Iraqi border.

The oil reserves in this field are estimated to be around 25.34 billion barrels, and the recoverable oil is estimated to be around 1.7 billion barrels, taking into account the recovery factor of 6.6 percent.

The development process of the South Azadegan oilfield is done in the form of two development phases, and according to the targeting, the production in this field is supposed to reach 600,000 bpd.

South Azadegan is one of the five major oilfields Iran shares with Iraq in the western part of Iran’s Karun region, known as West Karun fields.

West Karun holds great importance for the country’s oil industry because, according to the latest studies, its in-situ deposit is estimated to be 67 billion barrels containing both light and heavy crude oils. Therefore it could have a big impact on Iran’s oil output increases in the future.

Having an estimated 67 billion barrels of in-situ oil, West Karun fields definitely deserve the spotlight that has been put on them recently.

Through taking some major steps, such as the supply of the main equipment, the development process of South Azadegan oilfield has been accelerated over the past year.

EF/MA