Iran to complete Caspian Sea drilling

National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) says Iran will finish the drilling operation of its first oil exploration well in the Caspian Sea by March, Press TV reported.

NIOC's director for exploration, Mahmoud Mohaddes, made the remarks on the sidelines of the third day of Iran's 16th International Oil, Gas, Refining, and Petrochemical Exhibition on Monday.

The Islamic Republic has spent more than $500 million to build and install a semi-floating drilling platform and put supply boats into place, Bloomberg quoted Mohaddes as saying.

The well is partially drilled, and the NIOC aims to complete it by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2012), added the official.

"Considering the geopolitical situation and potential reserves of the Caspian Sea, the site is a top priority for the NIOC," Mohaddes stated.

In February 2010, North Drilling Company Managing Director Hedayatollah Khademi announced that the Amir-Kabir (formerly known as Iran-Alborz) semi-submersible drilling rig started exploration drilling in the Caspian Sea to bear the country's first exploratory well at a depth of 1,550 meters under the seabed.

The drilling rig weighs 14,000 tons without its attachments and will facilitate exploration in deep waters in the southern part of the Caspian Sea.

Iran's exploration efforts have so far led to the discovery of 46 oil fields in the Caspian Sea basin, where other neighboring countries are also developing major crude deposits.

Kazakhstan plans to begin producing crude as of the next year in the northern Caspian at Kashagan, the world's fifth-largest oil field, with partners such as Eni SpA, Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA.

In Azerbaijan, BP Plc leads a group pumping oil at the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli project, which is the largest field under development in Azerbaijan's sector of the resource-rich body of water.

The Caspian Sea holds 17-33 billion barrels of oil, and is estimated to give as much as 8,000 billion cubic meters of gas.

Iran is OPEC's second-largest crude producer after Saudi Arabia, and is ranked fourth in the world.


/Trend/