Salman Oil Field Needs EOR Technology
Salman (Sasan) oil field is jointly owned by Iran and the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf. Discovered some 45 years ago, the offshore oil field has high-pressure gas layers too. Salman is located in Hormuzgan Province and more precisely 144 kilometers south of Lavan Island.
Given the fact that some 70% of oil and gas layers of this field lie in Iran's territorial waters and in light of the issue of its joint ownership, development of Salman field has always topped the agenda of Iran's petroleum ministry. In the 2000s, the platforms of this field that had been seriously damaged during the imposed war (1980-1988) were renovated. However, its share of national production remains insufficient.
Managers of Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) that handles the development of Salman field have introduced five fields – Soroush, Norouz, Doroud, Salman and Forouzan – for investment within the framework of new-style oil contracts. According to these managers, development of Salman is more important than others.
Given the long history of production in Salman field, it seems that the main objective of Iran's petroleum industry with regard to ageing fields like Salman has been to apply cutting edge technologies for maximum efficient recovery and enhancing the rate of recovery.
Despite the high recovery rate in Salman oil field, some layers of this jointly operated field have not yet been depleted; therefore, it would be possible to raise production from this field.
The oil recovered from Salman field is light, with API gravity ranging between 33 and 37. Three oil layers of this field are already producing 47,000 b/d of oil. If the field undergoes development again it would be able to offer more than 70,000 b/d. This figure could still increase in case enhanced recovery is applied.
Salman oil field comprises an asymmetrical anticline with dimensions of 11 and 14 kilometers.
Salman also contains Khouf gas layer. It was discovered by Lavan Petroleum Company in the 1960s. Its first exploration well was drilled in June 1965 and it started production three years later.
According to the latest figures, Salman oil field currently has 44 oil and 10 gas wells. According to studies currently under way,gas production from this field could increase to 700 mcf/d. The UAE holds only 33% of the field and there is no precise data about this country's production from this reservoir.
Salman oil field's recovery rate is more than 51%. The oil extracted from Salman is transferred to Lavan Island via a subsea pipeline, measuring 22 inches in diameter, to undergo final processing in onshore facilities before being stored for exports or feeding Lavan refining facility.
Salman is an ageing oil field in Iran; however, its reserves are assessed as satisfactory.
Five platforms are currently operating in this field. Timely development of this field could help increase production from this field.
From among three production reservoirs in Salman, the Arab layer situated 10,000 feet undersea is of high significance because it produces 70% of Salman's oil. Two other layers located 8,000 and 5,000 feet undersea account for respectively 20 and 10 percent of Salman's oil production.
Salman is estimated to hold around 4.5 billion barrels of oil in place, 1.6 billion barrels of which are recoverable. So far, 1.1 billion barrels have been extracted from this field; therefore, half a billion barrels of oil still remain to be extracted.
Iran started signing buyback contracts for the development of oil fields in 1999. Since then, studies have been conducted on Salman oil field by Petroiran Development Company and Petroleum Engineering Company. At present, Tehran Energy Consulting Company and France's Frans-Basic are currently in charge of this study.
The primary processing of crude oil is conducted in the platform before being delivered to Lavan through a 144-kilometer pipeline for secondary processing, storage and exports.
Every day, 80 million cubic feet of gas produced in Salman is injected into oil fields by compressor for oil lifting. Two drilling rigs are conducting downhole workover. Nine gas wells in this field are producing gas which is delivered to Siri Island by a pipeline measuring 36 meters in diameter.
According to Iran's Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh, enhanced oil recovery is a key element in the new-style contracts. Therefore, enhanced recovery from Salman is a