Iranian Oilwell Gas Leak Kills Two

A leak of associated gas at ran’s Rag Sefid oil field caused an explosion that killed two workers October 29. The well had reached a depth of 2,610 metres.

State broadcaster IRIB showed huge flames surrounding the Fath 95 rig and destroying it. The oil ministry announced that the accident happened because of an associated gas leak when removing the drillstring from the wellbore.

The explosion came just two days after an explosion at Tehran oil refinery killed six October 27.

During the last few months, there have been several explosions at Iran’s oil and gas facilities, but the cases are rarer than last year, when 34 major explosions occurred at Iran’s energy facilities, raising questions of systematic sabotage by virus attacks. US and Israel reportedly sabotaged Iran’s nuclear facilities in 2009 and 2010 with the Stuxnet computer virus, which destroyed a part of Iran’s centrifuges.

Gholamreza Jalali, head of Iran’s civilian defence told state agency IRNA in August 2017 that two inactive malicious software items had been detected and removed from two of its petrochemical complexes.

Source: Tasnim

However, some Iranian officials have put the blame on low-quality Chinese equipment at the facilities. Iran banned non-standard Chinese oil equipment in August 2016, after the removal of sanctions following the nuclear deal the previous January.

The Fath 95 rig was manufactured during sanctions and completed in May 2016. Iran said it was one of the most advanced rigs, owned by National Iranian Drilling Company. The rig is 2,000-horsepower and has five generators, three fluid pumps, top drive as well as advanced electronic, hydraulic and mechanical systems.

Iran has signed two deals with Schlumberger and Russian Zarubezhneft to studying the Rag Sefid oil field. Since July 2016, Iran has drilled 12 wells at the field, producing 17,000 b/d oil.

Dalga Khatinoglu