Caspian Sea oil exploration resumes after three-decade hiatus
Iran targets 600m cubic meters of in-place crude
Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad ordered on Friday the restart of exploratory drilling operations in the shallow waters of the Caspian Sea in north of the country.
The drilling rig of North Drilling Company was deployed at the Rudsar structure in Block 18 of the Caspian Sea at a water depth of 70 meters, Tasnim reported.
The official restart of exploratory drilling was announced by Paknejad during the 29th International Oil, Gas, Refining, and Petrochemical Exhibition. The minister said, “If exploration operations in the Caspian Sea yield desired results, approximately 600 million cubic meters of crude oil in-place will be realized.”
“For nearly 28 years, drilling activities in the shallow waters of the Caspian Sea — the southernmost part of the sea — had been largely halted. After 28 years, operations will commence at the Rudsar hydrocarbon structure, located 15 to 16 kilometers offshore, at depths of 70 to 75 meters,” he added.
The minister emphasized, “Drilling will extend approximately 5 kilometers below the seabed. The success of this exploration will determine whether this hydrocarbon structure can be classified as a reservoir or field.”
Paknejad said the move requires extensive calculations to be conducted by the National Iranian Oil Company.
“Initial estimates based on seismic and geological studies suggest approximately 600 million cubic meters of crude oil in-place and 2 TCF of gas producibility. However, these figures will be confirmed after the completion of studies, which will take one year,” he added.
The exploratory drilling will reach a final depth of 5,077 meters to evaluate the reservoir potential of the Rudsar structure.
The last shallow-water well in the Caspian Sea was drilled in 1997. Drilling in the deep-water section of the Caspian Sea had also been suspended since 2014. The Oil Ministry plans to resume activities in this section following repairs to the Iran-Amirkabir semi-floating platform.