Iran speeds up infill gas drilling in South Pars

Iran has accelerated infill drilling in the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf with an official in the country’s Oil Ministry saying a first infill well in the field will become operational within a month.

CEO of the state-run Pars Oil & Gas Company said on Monday that the number of rigs for drilling infill wells in the South Pars had increased to four with the installation of two giant platforms over the weekend.

The two rigs, dubbed Sahar 1 and Pasargad 200, were installed at South Pars over the weekend as part of a plan to increase gas extraction from the giant reserve and to respond to the rising demand for energy in the country.

“Based on the plans, the drilling of the first well in this project will be completed within a month and the well will be ready for gas production,” said Dehghani.

The so-called infill drilling is the addition of wells in a hydrocarbon field to decrease well spacing and to accelerate the recovery of oil and gas from reservoirs.

Officials say the infill drilling project in South Pars will increase output from the field by 36 million cubic meters per day.

Iran is currently producing 711 mcm per day of gas in South Pars, the world’s largest gas reserve which is shared between Iran and Qatar.

The output is responsible for more than 70% of Iran’s total gas production.

However, the country has been forced to cut gas supplies to power plants and industries in recent weeks amid an early cold snap that has pushed up demand in the household and business sectors.

Dehghani said a total of 35 infill wells will be drilled in the South Pars to allow Iran to create a balance between its production and demand for natural gas in the next three years.

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