Development of Forouzan Oil Field in cooperation with Saudi Arabia aimed at replacing the existing platforms has entered a new phase.

The project, aiming to develop Forouzan-Esfandiar oil fields is the subject of a contract to be offered by Iran's Offshore Oil Co.

The development of the joint Iranian- Saudi Arabian oil field is considered as a major oil project in the region.

The Saudi Arabian Oil Company, Aramco, in cooperation with the American McDermott Co, has been working on the development of Marjan Oil Field for quite a while.

Meanwhile, development of the Iranian part of the joint oil reserve, called Forouzan Oil Field, is due to get underway after the government's allocation of the required fund.

The project targets to boost oil production from Forouzan Oil Field by 65 barrels per day (bpd) and 4,000 bpd at Esfandiar Oil Field. Output from Forouzan Oil Field had been initially predicted to be at around 100 millions barrels over a period of 25 years.

Petroleum Engineering Development Co.(PEDEC) is the contractor of the project.

Once the required budget is given, the output of Forouzan Oil Field is expected to rise by 243 million barrels and hit a total of 343 million barrels.

MPR/RA