Iran’s Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC) awarded two packages to local firms as part of a project to raise capacity at the Yadavaran oilfield according to a 9 December report by oil ministry press outlet Shana. Yadavaran is part of the West Karun Cluster of fields on the Iraq border, where the other two major fields are Azadegan and Yaran. West Karun output currently stands at around 500,000 b/d (MEES, 28 November).
The packages include wellhead equipment and flowlines to 24 new wells currently being drilled in order to raise capacity from 120,000 b/d to 165,000 b/d. The awards were to EPC contractors Bina Design and Construction and Khatam al-Anbiya, the engineering arm of the IRGC. Division of work is unclear, but 14 wells are to be drilled in South Yadavaran, where water cut is expected to be high, and 10 wells at North Yadavaran. The timeline is also unclear, and last month PEDEC CEO Nasrollah Zarei said only one well in the campaign had been put on stream. Western sanctions have complicated Iran’s access to financing and equipment, delaying projects and leaving the government no choice but to rely on local contractors. (CONTINUED - 191 WORDS)