The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and MAPNA Group have signed three Memoranda of Understanding on the development of one gas and three oil fields.
The signing took place on Friday, May 11, 2024, during the third day of the 28th Iran Oil Show in Tehran. Head of NIOC Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr and head of MAPNA Group’s Oil and Gas Division Saeed Mohammadzadeh inked the documents.
Mohammadzadeh stated that the MoUs cover three oil fields and one gas field. As per one of the documents, the development plan for the Band-e Karkheh oil field, valued at $500 million, will be put on MAPNA Group’s agenda, he said, adding that the field is expected to produce about 20,000 barrels per day.
Band-e-Karkheh is located 20 kilometers northwest of Ahvaz, the provincial capital of Khuzestan. The field is 50 kilometers long and 5 kilometers wide and is estimated to hold more than 4.5 billion barrels of crude oil in place.
Mohammadzadeh said that the project will be financed by the National Development Fund of Iran, with MAPNA Oil & Gas Development Company serving as the E&P of the project.
Pointing to the second MoU, Mohammadzadeh explained that the Danan and Dehloran oil fields will also be developed under an EPC contract. The project, valued at $1.1 billion, is expected to increase the country’s oil production by about 60,000 barrels per day, he said.
Pointing to MAPNA Group’s activities in the Danan oil field under an EPC format, he said that the new MoU was signed with MAPNA Oil & Gas Development Company as the E&P, with the National Development Fund contributing resources for the development.
The Danan oil field is located in western Iran. Discovered in 2007, Danan started producing oil in 2014, and its current output is carried to the Dehloran production unit for sweetening and compression.
The field is situated 30 kilometers southeast of Dehloran and 80 kilometers northwest of Andimeshk. The main reservoirs in this field are Asmari and Bangestan (Ilam and Sarvak formations).
The third MoU pertains to the major Forouz B gas field in the Persian Gulf. The project, a partnership between MAPNA Group and the National Development Fund, is estimated to cost $3.8 billion, he said. It is expected to add about 57 million cubic meters of gas to the country’s capacity, he added.
Given the significant investment required for the Forouz B field, MAPNA Group’s Oil & Gas Development Company is after negotiation with foreign partners for its development, Mohammadzadeh added.
He noted that the execution time for the Danan and Dehloran projects is estimated to be three years. The Forouz B project and Band-e Kharkheh projects will also take some 48 and 42 months, respectively, he said, citing estimates.
