West Karoun Sustained Oil Flow Despite Heavy Flooding
ran has been hit with heavy downpours since the start of the current calendar year to March 2019, causing flash floods in at least 25 provinces. Khuzestan Province, which produces 80% of Iran’s oil and 16% of its gas, was also hit with floods. The flooding was such heavy that the rising waters penetrated into oil installations particularly in Hoor al-Azim which houses Iran’s West Karoun oil reserves.Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh has said that the recent floods are estimated to have caused IRR 10,000 billion in damage on the petroleum industry infrastructure. However, Reza Dehqan, director of development at National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), has said that the floods had not caused any drop in the West Karoun oil output.Torrential rains engulfed many parts of Iran at the start of Persian New Year; however, Khuzestan Province and West Karoun, where most oil fields Iran shares with neighboring Iraq are located, had been grappling with rainfall since February.NIOC Crisis Management Committee has taken precautionary measures to head off a crisis which would halt oil production. Abdollah Tavvaf, deputy head of Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC) for logistics, said: “Since oil installations lie in the Hoor al-Azim lagoon, we carried out feasibility studies for countering this crisis and minimizing the ensuing damage.”Ahvaz Oil Installations Need RenovationIranian oil installations are mostly decrepit. That has caused more sensitivity in a bid to prevent accidents and oil production halt in oil-rich areas when floods strike.During a visit to the Hoor al-Azim and oil-rich areas in southern Iran, Minister Zangeneh said: “Apart from any probable decline in the oil production, petroleum industry managers are required to prioritize environmental concerns as soon as they feel any danger to pipelines or oil installations, and make sure that no danger would be posed to the environment.”He touched on the decrepit status of oil installations, saying: “The useful life of oil installations varies between 20 and 25 years and we have been using them for more than 45 years now. The oil installations in Khuzestan need to be renovated, which would cost tens of billions of dollars.”He laid emphasis on the necessity of protecting the environment, saying: “We have emptied some pipes of oil, and keep water running into them so that if they are damaged the environment would not.”Crisis ManagementDuring our visit to some oil-rich regions in southern Iran, water levels had risen to high levels and in case of heavy rainfall; water is likely to penetrate into the installations. That is easily predictable. For example, a bridge crossing over the Karoun River comprises 20 pipes carrying a variety of fluids, as well as sour gas and condensate structures. Both sides of the bridge are manned by technicians who regularly monitor the situation to find a solution as soon as rainfalls change. Hamid-Reza Kayhanpour, the head of the Khuzestan branch of the Iran Pipelines and Telecommunications Company (IPTC), said as soon as floods strike, sporadic fractures are repaired. Despite destruction left by the floods, the flow of oil and the transmission of petroleum products are continuing in Khuzestan Province.Ahmad Mohammadi, CEO of National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) said the flow of oil crossing through the Karoun River was cut in order to spare the environment any harm. Meantime, he added, for the first time the transfer of oil was halted via the Karoun River in coordination with NIOC Directorate of Supervision on Production. “Some of the oil needed was supplied by other companies and naturally the output fell so that we could manage the crisis to prevent environmental damage,” Mohammadi said. Hoor al-Azim Not BlockedThe proximity of West Karou