Iran to join shale oil market: NIOC
The reserves of shale oil in Qalikouh region of Aligudarz in the western Iranian province of Lorestan will enable the country to enter shale oil market, said an official with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).
A sum of 15 years of field research has been conducted in the area of Aligudarz as many sampling teams have carried out the required tests which led to extraction possibility from the above ground field, added NIOC Director of Exploration Mehdi Fakour.
Shale oil extraction is categorized in two ways, said the official, explaining that in the first way, drilling wells of 1,200 meters with very expensive methods are performed only under the conditions that $30-$40 of added-value is gained by each extracted barrel, which makes the process cost-effective.
Fakour added that there is no need for such expensive process of shale oil extraction in the above ground field of Lorestan.
“The researchers of the oil exploration in the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI) have achieved a new method on Iran’s shale oil extraction, which will be registered globally,” the official announced.
A pilot plant has been built which is developed by the Iranian method, the NIOC official said, explaining that it is collecting oil, condensates and associated gas, which enjoys a very high price that will contribute to the economy of the country.
Emphasizing that the oil specification of the region should be assessed before extraction, he expressed hope that in the next two to three months, the technical and economic report will be completed by the RIPI to start the extraction operations.