Iran to start work on Dobokubi oilfield

Iran’s Petropars oil firm says it will launch work on the Venezuelan Dobokubi oil field next spring pending the project’s approval by the country’s lawmakers.

“With the endorsement of the agreement on the Dobokubi oilfield in the Venezuelan parliament in the next two months, the development of the oilfield will commence next spring,” Managing Director of Petropars Company Gholam-Reza Manouchehri told Shana news agency on Tuesday.

Manouchehri said the decision to invest in the development of the field came after a series of technical and commercial feasibility studies.

He said Petropars has a 26-percent share in a joint venture with the Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA, but noted that the bulk of the development work will be done by the Iranian group.

“The production capacity of the part of Dobokubi due to be developed by the Iranian firm currently stands at 14,000 barrels per day which is to be increased to a minimum of 40,000,” Manouchehri explained.

The budget required for the development of the Venezuelan oilfield is USD two billion, out of which Iran accounts for USD 500 million.

Regarding another joint project in Venezuela, Manouchehri said investment in the Ayacucho 7 block in the country’s southeastern Orinoco oil belt is not a top priority for the PDVSA and no timetable has yet been set as to when the operation could begin there.