NIOC Plans Expansion Of Khami Formation Gas/Condensate Production
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) plans to expand gas and condensate production from the Khami formation of a number of oil and gas fields, under a four-year development program expected to cost $1.2bn. Mohammad Mousavi, Project Director at NIOC’s National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) subsidiary, was quoted by the company’s PIN news service on 14 February as saying that the plan to develop gas/condensate reserves throughout the NISOC operating area was intended to provide an additional 1bn cfd of natural gas production and 100,000 b/d of condensate output. The program would involve the development of Khami formation gas/condensate reservoirs in the Maroun, Pazanan, Karanj, Aghajari, Milaton (undeveloped), Rag-e-Safid, Bibi-Hakimeh and Qaleh-Nar (undeveloped) fields.
Mr Mousavi said that one well in the Maroun field’s Khami layer had been brought into production last year (MEES, 6 November 2006). The well was drilled to a total depth of 5,260 ms, and was currently producing 30mn cfd of gas and 5,000 b/d of condensate. Three further Maroun-Khami wells are being drilled and are due to be brought on-stream in the next 12 months. The four Maroun-Khami wells would be expected to deliver a total 200mn cfd of gas and 34,000 b/d of condensate. The eight-field Khami layer development program would require the drilling of 31 wells and the construction of five or six gas processing plants, along with the installation of pipelines. He added that production from the Khami formation had been neglected in comparison with other layers, because of the relative depth and drilling complexity.
