Shell Submits Iranian Field Survey

Anglo-Dutch major Shell submitted the result of its survey on Iran’s second major gas field, Kish, to the National Iranian Oil Company September 12, according to Shana. 

The report gave no further information, but last December Shell signed a memorandum of understanding to survey the 1.6 trillion m³ Kish field, as well as the oil fields South Azadegan and Yadavaran. All are among Iran’s priority to be tendered for foreigners, based on the newly-designed Iranian Petroleum Contract (IPC).

Kish is the second biggest gas deposit. Discovered in 2005, phase 1 development began immediately, with local companies. However, after spending $660mn of the budgeted $2.2bn, Iran cancelled the contracts and since then has achieved very little progress.

According to an official document, prepared by oil ministry and seen by NGW, the first phase of project includes the construction a refinery with 28.3mn m³/d capacity, a 75-MW power plant, construction of several pipelines, including a 92-km, 56-inch pipe from refinery to the seventh Iran gas trunk-line (Igat-7), drilling 14 wells as well as building a single bouy mooring.

But the pipelines are nowhere near complete and even the drilling operations were a little less than 90% complete as of July 20. The other sectors, including refinery and power plant, are still in the initial stages.

Kish field with 1.57 trillion m³ resources, of which 70% is recoverable, also holds about 514mn barrels of gas condensate. Iran divided the project into three phases, of which each would produce around 28mn m³/d gas and 11,000 b/d gas condensate.

Iran has also signed MoUs with Russian Gazprom as well as local Ghadir and Sane companies to study the project. Iran's biggest gas field is South Pars. Most of the reservoir's gas however is on Qatar's side of the border, where the it is known as the North Field.

Dalga Khatinoglu