TEHRAN – Cumulative oil extraction from Azar oilfield has reached 20 million barrels since it began operation in March 2017, IRNA reported on Sunday.

According to Touraj Dehghani, the chairman of the board and CEO of the Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC), the field’s oil production is planned to hit 65,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 19, 2020).

In a ceremony attended by Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, early production from Azar oilfield started on March 14, 2017 with an output capacity of 15,000 bpd.

As there is still no processing installation at the place of this filed, its output is going to be sent to the processing facilities of Dehloran oil field through a 120-km pipeline, Shana reported.

With 2.5 billion barrels of oil reserve, Azar field is located in Iran's western region of Mehran along the border with Iraq.

The field is developed jointly by Oil Industries Engineering and Construction Company (OIEC) and Oil Industry Pension Fund Investment Company (OPIC) in a period of 55 months.

EF/MA