Iran has moved ahead with development of the Azadegan oil field, signing an Integrated Production Services (IPS) contract between Oil Exploration Operations Company and Dasht-e Azadegan Arvand Oil and Gas Development Engineering Company. The agreement covers operation and production services for 55 wells, with a focus on protective production and improving recovery from the shared reservoir.
Azadegan, the world’s largest onshore shared oil field and the tenth-largest overall, holds an estimated 33 billion barrels of oil in place and is shared with Iraq. Tehran has made faster output growth a strategic priority, especially as international firms operate on the Iraqi side. It is also a test of Iran’s upstream capacity.
At a Sunday meeting, Abbas Sarkari, CEO of Oil Exploration Operations Company, said the IPS deal marked a new phase of cooperation. He said his company can deploy eight 2,000-horsepower drilling rigs and 13 technical service units, and is ready to execute work through 10 IPS and MOS packages over an expected 14 months.
OIEC CEO Mohammad Ali Shafiei said the group would provide engineering and operational support, including seismology, drilling and technical well services. It has contracted two 3,000-horsepower rigs and is preparing to add two more, alongside plans for 1,500- and 2,000-horsepower units.
PEDEC’s Azadegan development executor, Esmaeil Gholampour, stressed that all well operations must comply with National Iranian Oil Company permits and high HSE standards, warning that production continuity is critical.
Mahmoud Aminnejad, CEO of Dasht-e Azadegan Arvand, said the National Development Fund had agreed to a $2 billion facility. A new 16-well drilling and workover package will soon be awarded to Oil Exploration Operations Company. The consortium includes major Iranian banks and Petropars. Aminnejad also said funds are earmarked for local employment and welfare projects.
