Ahvaz Field is a super-giant
oil field located in
Ahvaz
Ahvaz ( fa, اهواز, Ahvâz ) is a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is hom ...
,
Khuzestan,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. It was discovered in 1953, developed by
Anglo-Persian Oil Company and began production in 1954. Ahvaz field is one of the richest oil fields in the world with an estimated
proven reserves
Proven reserves (also called measured reserves, 1P, and reserves) is a measure of fossil fuel energy reserves, such as oil reserves, natural gas reserves, and coal reserves. It is defined as the " antity of energy sources estimated with reasona ...
around , and production is centered on . The field is owned by
National Iranian Oil Company
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC; fa, شرکت ملّی نفت ایران, Sherkat-e Melli-ye Naft-e Īrān) is a government-owned national oil and natural gas producer and distributor under the direction of the Ministry of Petroleum of ...
(NIOC) and operated by
National Iranian South Oil Company
The National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) ( fa, شرکت ملی مناطق نفتخیز جنوب ایران, ''Shirkat-e Mily-e Minatâq-e Nuftxiz-e Jinvâb-e Iran'') is a government-owned corporation under the direction of the Ministry o ...
(NISOC).
History
Ahvaz oil field was discovered in 1953 by
Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC). A year later, in 1954 oil production started at an average of 35,000 barrels per day. So far, more than 600 oil wells have been drilled and completed on the field.
The super-giant Ahvaz field is the largest oil field in Iran and is located in the southwestern of the country, in the prolific zagros basin. Production from the field comes from the Asmari and the Bangestan
reservoirs
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...
which respectively started producing in 1959 and 1972. The field is one of the largest contributors to national production and although production is in decline, it remains the largest individual oil producer in Iran.
In Ahwaz field, there are 5 production units that been constructed between 1953 and 1969. At present, the crude oil production is about 800,000 barrels a day and the amount of natural gas processed in this field is more than 13 million cubic meters (450 billion cubic feet) per day. The field is owned by
National Iranian Oil Company
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC; fa, شرکت ملّی نفت ایران, Sherkat-e Melli-ye Naft-e Īrān) is a government-owned national oil and natural gas producer and distributor under the direction of the Ministry of Petroleum of ...
(NIOC) and operated by
National Iranian South Oil Company
The National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) ( fa, شرکت ملی مناطق نفتخیز جنوب ایران, ''Shirkat-e Mily-e Minatâq-e Nuftxiz-e Jinvâb-e Iran'') is a government-owned corporation under the direction of the Ministry o ...
(NISOC).
Geology
The Ahvaz field is the third largest oil field in the world. The field is one of the most important oil fields in the zagros basin, which is located in the Dezful embayment. The trend of ahvaz oil field is northwest-southeast parallel to the
Zagros mountains
The Zagros Mountains ( ar, جبال زاغروس, translit=Jibal Zaghrus; fa, کوههای زاگرس, Kuh hā-ye Zāgros; ku, چیاکانی زاگرۆس, translit=Çiyakani Zagros; Turkish: ''Zagros Dağları''; Luri: ''Kuh hā-ye Zāgr ...
.
The ahvaz field is a series of structures trending NW-SE caused by uplift movement due to the Zagros reverse fault, with production area of about long and wide.
The ahvaz oil field is made up of three main subsurface structures, known as the
Asmari, Bangestan, and Khami formations. The asmari formation deposited in the zagros foreland basin, during the
Oligocene‐
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
.
Reservoir
Ahvaz reportedly holds an estimated of oil; which accounts for 23% of Iran's oil reserves, estimated at 157 billion barrels. The oil sits approximately below the surface which is considered an easy target for production.
Production
As of September 2016, the field produces making up 20% of Iran's oil production of .
Currently ~430 production wells are operating at ahvaz field.
Oil production is operated by
Karoon Oil and Gas Production Company (a subsidiary of
NISOC) with 8 Production Units (degassing units) currently installed. These stations provide 3-phase
separation (oil, water & natural gas). Crude oil is sent by pipeline to local refineries or pumping to ports in
Kharg island
Kharg or Khark Island ( fa, جزیره خارک) is a continental island in the Persian Gulf belonging to Iran. The island is located off the coast of Iran and northwest of the Strait of Hormuz. Its total area is . Administered by the adjacen ...
for export. Natural gas is provided to Gas Injection Facilities. Water is disposed into disposal wells.
See also
*
List of oil fields
This list of oil fields includes some major oil fields of the past and present.
The list is incomplete; there are more than 25,000 oil and gas fields of all sizes in the world. However, 94% of known oil is concentrated in fewer than 1500 gian ...
*
National Iranian Oil Company
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC; fa, شرکت ملّی نفت ایران, Sherkat-e Melli-ye Naft-e Īrān) is a government-owned national oil and natural gas producer and distributor under the direction of the Ministry of Petroleum of ...
*
National Iranian South Oil Company
The National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) ( fa, شرکت ملی مناطق نفتخیز جنوب ایران, ''Shirkat-e Mily-e Minatâq-e Nuftxiz-e Jinvâb-e Iran'') is a government-owned corporation under the direction of the Ministry o ...
References
Oil fields of Iran
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