Iran set to produce 30,000 bpd of crude oil from Hengam field

Managing director of the National Iranian Offshore Oil Company (NIOOC) says Iran is set to increase oil production from the Hengam joint oil field to 30,000 barrels per day (bpd) when the drilling of the fourth well is over. Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh noted on Monday that the field, which is shared with Oman, is currently producing more than 22,000 bpd of oil, adding that the target output is 30,000 bpd, Mehr News Agency reported. “Three wells have been drilled and made operational in Hengam field so far and the fourth well of this offshore field is expected to become operational within 10 days,” he added. Zirakchianzadeh stated that a total of 10 wells would be drilled and made operational for the complete development of the field. He added that about USD 450 million has been invested in developing the first phase of the field, with a total of about USD 800 million appropriated for the development of both phases of the joint field. Since the beginning of its development, Hengam oil field has yielded about five million barrels of light crude oil. The field was discovered in the Persian Gulf after the first well was drilled in 1975. The second well was drilled in 2006 and subsequent reservoir studies put the field's in-place oil and gas reserves at, respectively, more than 700 million barrels and about 2 trillion cubic feet. Oman teamed up with a British company and started production by tapping 10,000 bpd of crude oil from the field, which is called Bukha in Oman, in March 2009, after building a 25-kilometer pipeline. Iran began early production from the joint field in September 2010 by producing 10,000 bpd of light crude oil. Hengam oil field is located about 45 km off Iran's Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf and straddles the common sea border with Oman. Iran shares oil and gas fields with most of its neighbors, including Iraq, Kuwait and Persian Gulf littoral countries, Qatar and Oman.