Tehran Times  – Managing director of Iran’s Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC) has said the company is still negotiating the second phase of Yadavaran oilfield’s development project with China's Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, known as Sinopec.

“Talks are still ongoing, but the process is going on at a slow pace,” Touraj Dehqani told ISNA on Sunday.

According to the official, the second phase of the field’s development project entails boosting output from the current 110,000 barrels per day to 180,000 bpd and eventually to 270,000 bpd.

A total of 105 wells need to be drilled in the second developmental phase of Yadavaran oilfield in order to realize the aim of producing the mentioned 180,000 barrels.

The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) started negotiations with Sinopec on development of the field in 2016, however due to some disagreements between the parties the project hasn’t yet begun.

In early May, Reza Dehqan, deputy director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) had said that the contract for development of the second phase of Yadavaran field has stopped, however, negotiations will continue.

Yadavaran is a joint hydrocarbon deposit with Iraq located 70 kilometers west of the city of Ahvaz in Khuzestan Province. The field is located within the West Karoun oil block that holds an estimated 67 billion barrels of oil in place.

Earlier this month, PEDEC announced that the company plans to connect Yadavaran Oilfield to West Karun Power plant, a measure that will ensure continuous and uninterrupted production of oil in this joint field.

“The Yadavaran Oilfield development project is the first project which will be powered through the West Karun Power Plant,” Hojat Norouzi, director of Yadavaran Oilfield development project at PEDEC, said.

The official said connecting the field to West Karun Power Plant was one of the prerequisites of the Yadavaran Oilfield development plan.

Yadavaran is one of the five oilfields known as West Karoun oilfields.

West Karoun region which includes five major fields namely North Azadegan, South Azadegan, North Yaran, South Yaran and Yadavaran is prioritized among the country’s top development projects.