South Zagros Oil and Gas Production Company (SZOGPC) is one of three subsidiaries of Iranian Central Oil Fields Company (ICOFC). SZOGPC runs five operating areas known as Naar & Kangan, Aghar & Dalan, Parsian, Sarkhoun & Gashouy-e Jonoubi and Sarvestan & Saadatabad. Nine gas fields Aghar, Dalan, Naar, Kangan, Sarkhoun, Tabnak, Homa, Varavi and Shanoul plus two oil fields Saadatabad and Sarvestan are administered by this company. SZOGPC covers stretches in the southern provinces of Fars, Bushehr and Hormuzgan. Due to new discoveries, it will in the future reach the provinces of Kohguiluyeh Boeyer Ahmad and Chahar Mahal Bakhtiari.
Besides 11 operating fields, 37 newly discovered fields are under authority of SZOGPC. These new fields are planned to be developed and operated in coming years. The executive committee of SZOGPC is located in Fars Province.
Currently, Naar & Kangan near Jam in Bushehr Province has the capacity to produce 80 mcm/d of gas to be delivered to Fajr Jam refinery.
Parsian, which includes the four gas fields of Shanol, Homa, Varavi and Tabnak, is near Lamerd and Khonj in Fars Province. Its 80 mcm/d gas production could feed the Parsian refinery.
In Aghar & Dalan, near the cities of Qir and Farashband, 45 mcm/d of gas is obtained, the bulk of which is used for injection into oil wells for enhanced recovery. In winter, part of this gas is fed into national trunkline to meet increased demand.
Sarkhoun and Gashouy-e Jonoubi are in Hormuzgan Province. Its output reaches 8.5 mcm/d and is destined mainly for Sarkhoun gas refinery.
And finally Sarvestan & Saadatabad area near the city of Sarvestan can produce up to 6,000 b/d of oil which is mainly fed into Shiraz oil refinery.
In total, SZOGPC meets 30% of Iran's gas demand, which is equal to the output of nine phases of South Pars gas field. That is why SZOGPC is among top gas producing companies in Iran.
62 bcm Gas Output
Gholam-Hossein Montazeri, CEO of SZOGPC, told a group of reporters visiting areas run by the company that SZOGPC produced 62 bcm of gas, 20 million barrels of gas condensate and 2.2 million barrels of oil during the last Iranian calendar year which ended on March 20. He said the products were valued at nearly $9 billion.
Regarding SZOGPC's plan for the current calendar year, he said gas production would reach 175.3 mcm/d on average.
Montazeri said that during the first eight months of the current year, gas production would stand at 163 mcm/d and it would reach 200 mcm/d during the last four months of the year when the weather gets cold.
"We forecast to produce 62 to 63 bcm of gas, nearly 20 million barrels of gas condensate and 2.1 million barrels of oil," said Montazeri.
Currently, 214 gas wells and 12 oil wells are operating in the area covered by SZOGPC. Montazeri said the wells totaled 350, some of which remained undeveloped.
He said that three wells were to be drilled this year in the Dalan, Naar and Homa fields, while two wells in Dalan and Aghar would undergo workover.
Oil & Gas Production Safety
Overhaul has always topped the agenda of operating companies. In the last calendar year, overhaul on pipelines and oil and gas facilities of SZOGPC registered 228,000 persons-hours. That was aimed at providing safe conditions for oil and gas production.
Montazeri said 25.5 kilometers of pipelines were retrofitted, while intelligent pigging was carried out within the framework of overhaul last calendar year.
"Some 110 kilometers of intelligent pigging was done in the year 1395 (last calendar year). In the year 1396, 200 kilometers of pipeline owned by this company is to undergo intelligent pigging," he added.
Montazeri referred to establishment of domestically manufacturing committees in electronic sector, saying: "The electronic cards of electronic systems in the Lar gas pressure booster stations whose turbines and compressors belong to Siemens have been designed and built by Iranian technicians at Shiraz electronic industry."
Pointing to planning for the development of Khesht oil field in the first half of the Iranian calendar year 1397, he said this field was expected to have an output of 20,000 b/d to be carried to Guenaveh for exports.
High-Quality Oil in Sarvestan/Saadatabad
Among five SZOGPC-run operating areas, Sarvestan and Saadatabad fields which are located near the city of Sarvestan in Fars Province produce oil. In this area, there are wellhead installations, stream pipelines, production unit, desalineation plant, pressure booster station for associated gas, facility for pumping oil to Shiraz refinery, sweetening plant and oil vapor pressure stabilization system.
Oil processing operation is done at Shahid Dast Bala plant in Sarvestan. This plant was launched in March 2013 and currently supplies 6,000 b/d of oil, which can be brought to 6,500 b/d.
Nour-Ali Mofateh, head of Sarvestan and Saadatabad operating area, said Sarvestan and Saadatabad held respectively 120 million and 180 million barrels of oil in place.
"The light crude oil from these fields has an API of 31 and is among high-quality oil, destined for export," he said.
In some areas in Iran, the oil H2S level stands at around 80 ppm while in Sarvestan and Saadatabad it is at 15 ppm. That is an advantage for oil which is meant for export.
There are three oil storage tanks in Sarvestan and Saadatabad operating area. Oil is fed into Shiraz refinery via pipeline measuring 10 inches in diameter.
Mofateh said a total of 12 wells had been drilled in Sarvestan and Saadatabad. He said Well No. 3 was between 2,000 and 3,000 meters deep with a surface pressure of 30 to 150 bar. This well supplies 1,000 b/d of oil.
Varavi Gas Output at 8mcm/d
Journalists were also given a tour of Parsian operating area. It is near the cities of Lamerd, Mohr, Khonj and Parsian. A total of 94 wells have been drilled in the four gas fields of Tabnak, Homa, Shanol and Varavi. There are six gas gathering centers and 700 kilometers of pipeline.
Tabnak produces 43 mcm/d of gas, Shanol 16 mcm/d, Homa 14 mcm/d and Varavi 8 mcm/d. Besides a total of 81 mcm/d of gas produced in this area, 30,000 b/d of gas condensate is supplied.
Therefore, Parsian is one of the largest operating areas producing sweet gas. Geographically speaking, it is located in Fars Province; however, it is in a very hot area. It was 45 degrees Celsius when journalists were touring. Bad weather conditions have made operations difficult there; nonetheless, production has never dropped as staff and service workers commit themselves to production.
Visiting gas wells to make sure that there is no disruption requires a 100-kilometer journey in a rugged and treacherous area. But service workers there carry out this task under searing sun and in stinging cold.
Mostafa Mostafaian, head of Varavi gathering center, said Varavi was producing nearly 1,000 b/d of gas condensate and 8 mcm/d of gas from 12 wells. Varavi's products go directly to Parsian gas refinery.
Since gas enters this gathering facility, a wellhead safety valve is watching out for leakage or other disruptions to automatically cut the gas flow. There is also a control valve gauging the amount of gas delivered to the Parsian refinery. There are also eight safety valves that would keep a tab on the gas pressure.
The gathering center has the lowest altitude, while other gas fields in this area are located at a higher location above sea level.
Tabnak, Largest Gas Field in Parsian
Tabnak gas field, whose production capacity is approximately five times that of Varavi, is located south of Lamerd. It is among the largest sweet gas fields in Parsian.
Hojjat Ilani, manager of Parsian operating area, said 50% of the Parsian refinery feedstock is provided by this field, adding: "Forty-four wells in Tabnak gas field produce 43 to 44 mcm/d of sweet gas and around 15,000 b/d of gas condensate."
He said there were three gas gathering centers at Tabnak gas field.
"The gas gathered by two pipelines is transferred to Parsian refinery. The gas produced in Parsian operating area accounts for one-eighth of Iran's total gas consumption," said Ilani.
"Given the fact that gas production in this area is one-decade old, South Zagros Oil and Gas Production Company plans to maintain production from the wells. For this purpose, pressure booster stations are planned to be used," he added.
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