TEHRAN – Three years after signing a deal with Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC) for the development of the southern Belal gas field, Petropars has finally started drilling the first descriptive-exploratory well in this field.

As announced by the company’s Managing Director Shamseddin Mousavi, the drilling operation was officially begun on Monday and a drilling rig called Deepsea Treasure, which is operated by Dana Kish Company as the sub-contractor of the project is located at the field.

According to Mousavi, the descriptive-exploratory well of this field, which is located in the eastern part of the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf, will have a depth of approximately 4,300 meters and will be drilled to the top of the reservoir layer.

The drilling operation is going to include 700 meters of coring in the horizons of Kangan, Dalan, Zakin, and Faraghan as well as carrying out seven drill stem tests (DST); so, this well is considered one of the most comprehensive descriptive wells that have been drilled so far in the country's oil and gas fields, the official said.

This well is being drilled in order to determine the extent of the South Pars gas field expansion and to evaluate the potential capacity of the reservoir in the Zakin and Faraghan horizons.

Petropars finalized a $440m deal with POGC, a subsidiary of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), for developing the Belal gas field in September 2019.

The buyback contract, which was to be enclosed in the integrated and master development plan of South Pars phases 11 to 24, was aimed at a daily production of 500 million cubic feet (an equivalent of 14 million cubic meters) per day of rich gas in 34 months, however, the contract was extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial hardship created by the U.S. sanctions.

Based on the contract, POGC serves as the employer of the contract and carries out reservoir studies, and arranges the sideline licensing rounds for the purposes of the project. Accordingly, the company is required to tap the capabilities of local manufacturers and contractors.

For its part, Petropars as the contractor of the project is required to drill eight wells in the offshore field, launch wellhead jackets and build and install a topside with 500 million cubic feet per day of gas production capacity as well as a seabed pipeline with an estimated length of 20 kilometers.

The gas produced in this field will be processed at the onshore refinery of South Pars Phase 12.

Belal Gas Field is located east of South Pars in the Persian Gulf and 90 km southwest of Lavan Island.

EF/MA