A: Iranian companies have experienced a big jump over the past 10 years with regard to exploration services and upstream oil industry and now we have very good companies capable of providing technical services in drilling and seismic testing. However, we have not so far had any E&P company compliant with global standards. Of course a number of well-known domestic companies have been assessed in this regard and they meet minimum requirements. We hope that after the implementation of IPC deals and cooperation with internationally recognized E&P companies, we will witness the activities of first generation of domestic E&P companies.
One of the problems we are facing in the exploration sector and I intend to remove it is the relationship between producer companies and exploration ones. Exploration is a link in the upstream oil industry chain. Upstream chain is like a collective sport activity.
To resolve this problem, we held talks with Iran Central Oil Fields Company (ICOFC) at the 21st Oil Show. In cooperation with this company, we plan to transform extension and appraisal wells into production wells and pursue a new process in the exchange of data.
Q: What are your main plans following your appointment as the NIOC exploration director?
A: Oil and gas exploration is a long-term process and it could not be limited to a one or two-year timeframe. It will take around seven years since the time that geological activities start until exploration wells are drilled and economic studies are conducted. The exploration industry is in fact a late-impact enterprise; therefore, exploration projects are defined as long-term ones in Iran. For the moment, two five-year plans have been defined for the NIOC Exploration Directorate. The minimum objective sought under these plans is exploration of oil and gas by 2025. Therefore, exploration needs appropriate and stable resources with minimum changes. Due to this characteristic, if exploration is dropped off the list of priorities, one day it will be very difficult to make up for consequences.
After defining this strategy and long-term plans, my next plans will consist of convincing senior managers to guarantee their implementation.
Changing the NIOC Exploration Directorate into a project-oriented entity, emphasis on the establishment of knowledge management in this knowledge-based entity, maximizing outsourcing and policymaking, shifting the exploration focus from fields to sedimentary basins and conducting integrated large-scale studies for appraising sedimentary basins and tight oil systems are among my main agenda.
Q: How many wells will be drilled under these exploration plans?
A: Under these plans, nearly 80 oil and gas exploration wells are envisaged to be spudded. This number of wells will definitely be accompanied by massive exploration, geological and seismic activities. The serious plan currently envisaged to be done is to conduct integrated G&G studies for drilling these wells. These projects, which are part of preliminary and basic studies, will be soon implemented across Iran with the objective of oil and gas exploration. For instance, aerial magnetometry data gathering is to be done for the first time in Iran. These operations have always been done by airplanes, but we have recently received two proposals for conducting this project with unmanned aircraft. Therefore, this project is in better conditions in terms of economy, security and technicality. With this magnetic method, the depth of sediments in the country will be known and naturally by achieving this data we will be able to do exploration more effectively. By implementing aerial magnetometry project in Iran, we will see a major development in exploration in the country.
Q: Is the necessary technology for this project available in Iran? What is your timeframe for the implementation of this project?
A: Since local companies have no experience in such operations this project must be assigned to international companies. We are currently in talks with four European companies. Of course given the strong expert body of the Exploration Directorate the analysis and interpretation of data are expected to be done by this Directorate. Exploration in Iran has so far been based on identifying oil and gas fields, but from now on, this sector involves the main plans and more specifically sedimentary basin studies. In other words, we will witness integration in oil and gas exploration in Iran. We have seen such studies in Persian Gulf Morvarid exploration project. These studies enable us to identify parent rock, oil traps and routes of oil migration. That will facilitate exploration procedure in Iran.
Exploration of unconventional oil and gas resources has long been under way in Iran. Now, plans will be more serious about shale oil, shale gas and gas hydrates.
Given the implementation of the first phase of gas hydrate project in the Sea of Oman we plan to start the second phase of these exploration studies. In this regard an offshore well is planned to be drilled, but due to its high costs we are looking for foreign contractor and investor.
Exploration studies for shale gas in Lorestan province are now at 70% and according to the achievements recently presented to a seminar, this area is projected to have major gas reserves.
Shale oil exploration in Qalikouh area is also under way, but they have yet to be finalized. Therefore, no forecast could be made.
I have to recall that in Iran the time of discovery of gigantic fields like Azadegan and South Pars is gone. Therefore, exploration costs and risks in Iran have increased drastically. In parallel with structural traps, we are also looking for stratigraphic traps because such reservoirs are highly likely to exist in Iran. For instance, we are assured that the oil fields in Abadan Plain and West Karoun area are of stratigraphic and combined oil traps. Nevertheless, we are not ignoring traps near salty domes either. In this regard, we are conducting studies in Fars Province in collaboration with University of Barcelona.