The Aghar gas field, an onshore gas field located in the Fars Province of Iran, is being expanded to double its gas production capacity to 40 million cubic metres per day (Mcm/d).

The field is owned and operated by South Zagros Oil & Gas Production Company (SZOGPC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Iran Central Oil Fields Company (ICOFC).

Established in 1999, ICOFC is one of the five production companies of the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and accounts for more than 40% of the country’s total gas production.

Feasibility study for the Aghar phase two development was completed in 2018, which indicated a 40% increase in the recoverable gas reserves of the field with at least 71% gas recovery rate.

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Otherwise, under the status-quo scenario, the field’s gas recovery rate was predicted to fall to 34.7% due to decline in the wellhead pressure.

Aghar field expansion details

The Aghar field’s expansion involves the drilling of six new gas producing  wells and the installation of a compressor system to uplift the natural gas recovery rates to 71.5%.

Additional gas produced from the Aghar field expansion is planned to be used for increasing the gas pressure at oil fields located in southern Iran, including the Maroun oil field, which is owned and operated by Maroun  Oil and Gas Production Company, another subsidiary of NIOC.

The Aghar gas field has existing wellheads, four gas gathering centres, as well as a central gas separation facility to separate condensate and gas.

The gas and condensate produced from the field are sent through two 90km-long parallel pipelines to the Farashband gas refinery facility for final processing. Both the 24in-diameter gas pipeline and the 3in-diameter condensate pipeline connecting the Farashband refinery are owned and operated by SZOGPC.

The Farashband refinery facility, located in Dalan, is also being expanded to treat the additional output of the Aghar gas field.

The Farashband processing facility links to the Shiraz oil refinery through a 231km-long and 8in-diameter pipeline capable of transporting 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) of distillates.

The Aghar field’s expansion involves the drilling of six new gas producing  wells and the installation of a compressor system to uplift the natural gas recovery rates to 71.5%.

Aghar field discovery and development details

The Aghar natural gas field was discovered in 1972 and became operational in 1999, after approximately three decades of exploration and appraisal.

Development of the Aghar gas field took place alongside the Dalan field development. The Aghar and Dalan fields are together capable of producing up to 40Mcm/d of gas at gas pressure varying between 230bar to 120bar.

The Dalan field, which was developed with nine production wells and three manifolds, has a two-phase gas gathering system.

The Aghar gas field has a total of 16 wells out of which 13 are gas producing wells. It has a two-phase gas gathering system, four manifolds, and pipelines leading to Aghar’s central facilities.

Site details and infrastructure facilities

The Aghar gas field lies approximately 110km south-east of Shiraz and 35km south-east of Firouzabad. The site is accessible via the Kavar to Firuzabad road on Iran’s Highway/Route 65.

Primary infrastructure components of the project include an industrial complex housing the administrative block, warehouse, workshop, fire pump house, control systems, and associated facilities.Power required for the Aghar and Dalan gas project is sourced through 80km of overhead electricity transmission lines connecting the project’s onsite substation with Iran’s national grid.

The site is also developed with a housing complex capable of accommodating 240 households, apart from all necessary civic amenities.

Contractors involved

Sazeh served as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the Aghar and Dalan field development.