MEOG: Turkish progress and Iranian process

In MEOG this week, we look at progress in Turkey’s upstream, while Iran seeks to ramp up processing capacity.

Turkish Petroleum Corp. (TPAO) this week announced the discovery of a small onshore oilfield as efforts ramp up to tap its flagship offshore gas asset.

The news follows Ankara’s unveiling of the country’s fourth drillship, and the controversial announcement that it will begin operations in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Over the weekend, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez paid a visit to TPAO facilities in the southern Adana province following the commercial discovery of the Cukurova oilfield.

He told gathered press that the asset is estimated to contain around 8mn barrels of recoverable oil, which is expected to be produced at a very low price per barrel given the shallow depth of the discovery. Donmez said that the Cukurova-1 and Cukurova-2 wells are the shallowest off Turkey, drilled to a depth of 430 metres and 358 metres respectively.

Meanwhile, Iran has announced plans to increase its slate of gas-based products with a view to ramping up exports.

Speaking to local media this week, Ahmad Bahoush, the managing director of South Pars Gas Complex (SGPC) – a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC) – said that projects would raise output from the facility’s gas and condensate refineries.

Bahoush highlighted new LPG export facilities and a sulphur export dock and natural gas sweetening and storage units at the South Pars 2 site at the Asalouyeh downstream hub. Asalouyeh is the location of the 14 gas refineries that comprise the downstream portion of the South Pars gas development project. The project is split into 24 offshore development phases and 14 onshore gas refineries which process the gas produced offshore, though NIOC has begun exploration efforts to facilitate upstream expansion.