Middle East opens up to increased oil and gas exploration opportunities

Jonathan Craig, regional manager, IHS Energy, reviews on a country-by-country basis some of the significant events likely to shape the future of exploration and development in the Middle East region. Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in late August appointed the former deputy oil minister in coordination affairs, Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh, as the caretaker of the Ministry of Petroleum. The move came following the rejection by parliament of four cabinet nominees on the grounds of lack of ministerial experience. Due to the delay in appointing a new minister, many contracts are in limbo and/or not expected to be signed until after the appointment of a new oil minister. Recent developments Norsk Hydro in August was assigned the 7740 km2 Khoramabad Block in the Zagros Fold Belt. The company is in discussions with Iran’s NIOC Exploration Directorate on the details of the contract. The company’s subsidiary Hydro Zagros Oil and Gas (75%, operator) has begun preparing a commerciality report for the Anaran block to file with NIOC by end-3Q 2005. The submission will be the starting point for beginning buy-back development negotiations for the 2700 km2 block, western Iran, on the border with Iraq. NIOC was sidetracking its Kish 2 wildcat on Kish Island from around 3850 m by late June, after an unsuccessful fishing job at a TD of 4034 m. Logging was run to 3897 m, presumably near the depth of the top of the fish, and a cement plug was set. However, on 10 September 2005 Iranian press reported that a ‘massive’ gas reservoir was penetrated at 4100 m. Kish 2 has objectives in the Permian to Lower Triassic Kangan, Dalan, and Faraghan formations (sandstone below Dalan).