Austrian Firms Introduce EOR Technology
Three Austrian companies introduced their cutting-edge enhanced oil recovery methods in a conference in Tehran.
Pars Marine Industries Company organized the First Austrian Technology Transfer Conference for EOR by using treated water at the Austrian Embassy's commercial section in Tehran.
The event was attended by the representatives of three Austrian companies operating in EOR technologies in oil industry, namely HOT Engineering, SONNEK Engineering and ILF Consulting Engineers.
The conference discussed strategies to boost the oilfields' lifespan, the key for cheap oil production on mature oilfields, as well as optimization of the water cycle to improve the reservoir pressure.
According to PMIC, EOR operations primarily aim at maintaining the optimum reservoir pressure and to this end, a well-designed process has to be carried out during the life time of oilfields.
Pointing to water scarcity as one of the biggest environmental woes afflicting Iran, Mohammad Zahedzadeh, a water management specialist from the National Iranian Oil Company and one of the keynote speakers, said, "Most of Iran's oilfields are in the middle or the end of their life cycle and water resource management should be incorporated in all master development plans. Appropriate solutions should be adopted to address water challenges during the fields' life cycle."
Austrian participants demonstrated their latest state-of-the-art EOR techniques using treated seawater or water extracted from oilfields. Reservoir analyses and modeling, designing and engineering the best process, technology and equipment manufacturing and installation systems were among other presented issues.
According to Diethard Kratzer, HOT Engineering CEO, proper reservoir understanding and characterization are prerequisites for a successful EOR operation.
The official also remarked on oilfield characterization and modeling as well as EOR process visualization using microfluidics "Rock-on-a-Chip" technology, a rapid and cost-effective tool for enhancing the understanding of the EOR processes to reduce the amount of conventional core floods required for EOR screening and planning.
Highlighting consulting, engineering, procurement and tendering of EOR projects, Helge Hoeft, the head of projects business unit upstream at ILF consulting engineering, talked about project management for the implementation, engineering, planning and tendering EOR ventures.
Werner Wieseneder, managing partner of SONNEK Engineering, focused on the design, production, startup and service of turnkey EOR modular systems for treatment and high pressure injection of produced water and seawater. He also offered a technical presentation about modular equipment for EOR projects, water treatment, water injection, dosing system and services.
New Appointments at Petroleum Ministry
Iran's petroleum minister Bijan Zangeneh has made three major appointments. He named a vice minister as well as CEOs for the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) and the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC).
Marzieh Shahdaei was named vice minister of petroleum, the first for a woman at this post at the petroleum industry. Zangeneh said this appointment was in line with the policy of the new administration in boosting the standing of women.
Reza Norouz-Zadeh, a former CEO of Social Security Investment Company, was named to managing director of the NPC.
Furthermore, in line with the policy of appointment of youth, Zangeneh named Ali-Reza Sadeq-Abadi as CEO of the NIORDC which was headed by Abbas Kazemi during the first term in office of Zangeneh.
Sadeq-Abadi was serving as CEO and Chairman of Siraf Refineries Infrastructure Company.
South Korea, Uzbek Ministers in Oil Talks with Iran
In mid-October, Iran's Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh received separately South Korean Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mi and Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov. The South Korean official said her country was ready to invest in Iran's petroleum industry while the Uzbek minister expressed his country's desire to purchase oil from Iran.
After his meeting with Kim, Zangeneh said the main topic in their discussions was the purchase of oil and gas condensate.
"There have been some problems with regard to payment of Iran's oil money by South Korea, which we discussed and we agreed that the outcome of these negotiations be communicated to the South Korean minister of finance," he said, adding that an Iranian delegation is to travel to South Korea soon.
He referred to the presence of South Korean companies in the South Pars gas field and their past involvement in the construction of oil refineries in Iran.
"South Korean companies are still interested in Iran's oil projects and the South Korean government has allocated a $20 billion credit line for South Korean companies to work in Iran, which is a good support," said the minister. "In the meeting we reiterated that the share of Iranian companies in the projects must be considerable."
Zangeneh said South Korea's long-term import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Iran was also discussed in the meeting.
He added that basic agreement was reached between the two sides for the South Korean companies to invest in Iran's oil, gas and petrochemical sectors.
Zangeneh said Iran is currently exporting 120,000 b/d of crude oil and gas condensate to South Korea, noting that Iran would change its oil sales policy, should payment problems are not resolved.
For his part, the Korean minister said South Korean companies, particularly state-run KOGAS, would be willing to operate projects in Iran.
"The managers of this company are in talks with Iranian companies and the CEO of KOGAS met with Iran's deputy minister of petroleum in May," he said.
Iran Seals 1st LNG Deal
Iran signed first ever contract to export liquefied natural gas (LNG), following months of negotiations, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) announced.
The contract was signed between the NIOC and IFLNG (jointly owned by Iran’s Kharg Gas Refining Company and Norway's Helma).
Under the contract Iran’s natural gas will be converted to LNG in a floating LNG vessel (FLNG), belonging to Belgium's Exmar.
The vessel called Caribbean FLNG, which is chartered by IFLNG Company, has the capacity to produce 500,000 tons of LNG per year.
The 20-year contract will to come into force within three months.
The Caribbean FLNG is expected to dock at Pars Service port in the Persian Gulf in mid 2018, in order to receive 2.3 mcm of natural gas per day from 7th South Pars Gas Refinery.
Launching FLNG and mini-LNG facilities will help Iran diversify and expand its natural gas market, and take advantage of being the world’s largest natural gas holder.
These projects will also grant the country chance to use its flaring gas (mostly from burning associated gas in the oil sector) which currently amounted at about 11 billion cubic meters per year (bcm/y) by converting it into LNG.
Norway's ORG to Study Iran Caspian Blocks
Norway's Offshore Resource Group (ORG) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to study exploration blocks in the Iranian sector of the Caspian Sea.
The MOU requires the Norwegian firm to study Sardar-e-Jangal field plus Blocks 24, 26 and 29 off Caspian Sea.
The memorandum was signed between CEO of ORG Jostein Kare Kjerstad and CEO of Khazar Exploration and Production Company (KEPCO) Mohsen Delaviz.
Iran's Deputy Minister of Petroleum for International Affairs and Commerce Amir-Hossein Zamani-Nia, who was present at the signing ceremony, expressed hope that the cooperation between NIOC, KEPCO and ORG would help extend the domain of exploration and development in the Iranian sector of the Caspian Sea.
Deputy CEO of NIOC, Gholam-Reza Manouchehri, said: "I hope that this MOU would lead to longer-term and more effective cooperation between the two sides and the results of studies to be conducted by Norway's ORG would help NIOC revise and complete existing information."
Norway's Ambassador to Tehran Lars Nordrum referred to the history of Norwegian companies' work in Iran's oil and gas industry, saying further interaction with Iran is an achievement of Iran's nuclear deal with six world powers.
He said that the Caspian Sea region would allow Norway to enhance its cooperation with other littoral states.