Higher Oil Prices to Benefit World
Iran’s petroleum minister, Bijan Namdar Zangeneh, has said that higher oil prices have three advantages for the world.
“Firstly, the production of expensive oil becomes economically viable; secondly, they (higher prices) make renewable energy viable and thirdly, they reduce and optimize consumption,” he said in a televised interview.
Asked how threatening shale oil is for Iran’s oil and OPEC, the minister said: “Iran’s oil lies within OPEC’s oil and it is among low-priced oils and its cost price is below $10 while the cost price for shale oil is $70 on average.”
Zangeneh also said market fundamentals are mainly to blame for crude oil price slumps even though political factors cannot be ruled out.
“The surplus oil in the market has been the main cause of price declines in recent months,” he said.
He said there is 2 million bpd of excess oil in the market which is expected to endure in the first six months of 2015.
“This has pushed down prices in the global market, not to mention the projections for August 2014 which had foreseen the situation.”
Zangeneh, however, said political factors also played a role.
“There is no doubt that political factors have had an effect to sustain the situation; but to what extent, one cannot say for sure,” he added.
The minister said while the United States had seized on the oil price decline to pressure Russia over Ukraine, Iran was less of a target.
“However, we think America and its allies had the intention to deal a blow to Iran,” he added.
Zangeneh also said that Iran has been pushing ahead with its oil projects regardless of sanctions.
“Even under the conditions of sanctions, Iran focused all its efforts on the development of petroleum industry projects particularly development of joint fields,” he said, highlighting development projects in the supergiant South Pars gas field which Iran and Qatar share in the Persian Gulf.
“We are not waiting for the sanctions to be lifted. We continue our job within the framework of our country’s economic policies,” said the minister.
Universities to Study Oil Fields
Iran’s deputy petroleum minister, Rokneddin Javadi, and chancellors of nine universities and research institutes have signed agreements for technological studies to be conducted on nine oil fields.
Javadi, who is managing director of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), said these agreements are signed so that the technological knowhow acquired by scientific centers in Iran would be used for enhanced recovery from oil fields.
He said that even one-percent increase in recovery rate would result in the extraction of 5 billion barrels of oil. He said such big volume of recovery would earn Iran significant revenues.
Mohammad-Ali Emadi, deputy head of NIOC for research and technology, said Iran is assigning studies on oil fields to universities for the first time in a century.
“The universities are expected to find an appropriate foreign partner to clear the way for the transfer of technology in the upstream sector,” he said.
Iran’s minister of petroleum has instructed NIOC to establish an advisory body to maximize recovery from the country’s oil and gas reservoirs.
In a letter to Petroleum Ministry’s Department of Research and Technology, Bijan Namdar Zangeneh recommended Iranian universities and research centers cooperating in oil and gas recovery with Ministry of Petroleum to recruit a qualified Iranian or foreign consultant to gather extraction data.
The advisory body will be comprised of veteran experts specializing in oil and gas recovery.
Ahvaz oil field is to be studied by RIPI, Karanj by Islamic Azad University, Kupal by Sharif University of Technology, Mansouri by Shiraz University, Gachsaran field by Petroleum University of Technology and Bibi Hakimieh to Enhanced Recovery Research Center. All these five oil fields are run by National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC).
The Petroleum Engineering Institute of University of Tehran is to study South Azadegan oil field which is administered by Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC). Amir-Kabir University of Technology is to handle Darkhoein field which is run by Arvadan Oil Company and Sahand University of Technology is to conduct studies on Soroush oil field which is run by Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC).
RIPI, SOCAR Mull Oil Technology Cooperation
Iran’s Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) have agreed to cooperate in petroleum technologies.
Following a second round of talks, RIPI and SOCAR agreed to offer mutual services and seek opportunities in markets in the countries in the region.
Amir-Abbas Hosseini, deputy head of RIPI for technology and international affairs, said: “In recent months, RIPI has reached preliminary agreements with this company in the upstream sector, extraction and drilling, downstream sector as well as energy and the environment.”
He highlighted the potentialities of SOCAR in offshore activities, saying the Azeri company has already had good performance in the Caspian Sea and has made significant progress in nanotechnology.
Hosseini said RIPI plans to use the products SOCAR has already used in the development of oil fields in Azerbaijan.
“Downhole equipment and pumps are among other successes of SOCAR and they are supposed to give us a new version of this equipment to use in resolving domestic problems,” he said.
Hosseini said enhanced oil recovery is another point the RIPI and SOCAR have agreed upon.
“Given the background and competence of RIPI in providing services with regard to petroleum core analysis, it was agreed that RIPI, as the reference in phase behavior (PVT), pressure and temperature, would meet the needs of SOCAR,” he said.
Hosseini said RIPI and SOCAR both enjoy great potentialities in nanotechnology, adding that they have agreed to share technological savvies.
Regarding the presence of RIPI in the markets of countries in the region, he said: “Given the capacities and potentialities of both sides, it was decided that we win foothold in some markets in the region and expand the capacities of RIPI across the region.”
He said RIPI and SOCAR reached agreement on conducting joint projects overseas and cooperating in the education sector. He added that technical teams from both sides are to enter negotiations for submitting a preliminary plan.
“An advantage with cooperation between the two sides is to use the experience and knowledge of oil experts in managing oil projects so that we can exchange and transfer technology alongside major oil companies in the world,” Hosseini said.
He said that RIPI and SOCAR reached agreement on environmental issues, adding that RIPI researchers, who have already removed oil pollutants in Siri Island, are able to implement projects in Azerbaijan and other Central Asian countries.
Senior managers from RIPI and SOCAR are expected to meet in late February and in early March.
SOCAR is one of the largest O&G corporations in the world, involved in production of oil and natural gas from both onshore and offshore fields in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea.