RoydadNaft –  The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has officially kicked off the second phase of development at the Azar oilfield, targeting an increase of approximately 30,000 barrels per day in crude production.

Kivan Yar-Ahmadi, project manager for the Azar field development, announced that the phase will be executed in two stages. The first stage includes drilling 12 new wells, installing downhole pumps, acid fracturing of the new wells, and constructing wellhead facilities and flowlines.

The second stage will involve drilling an additional seven wells, further acid fracturing operations, and completion of remaining surface facilities.

“With the swift submission of the 2026 programme and budget and the finalisation of technical and contractual documents, field operations will commence in the shortest possible time,” Yar-Ahmadi said.

Located in Mehran county, Ilam province, the Azar oilfield is a shared reservoir with Iraq’s Badra field and lies along the same trend as the Changuleh field. It holds an estimated 2.5 billion barrels of oil in place, with around 400 million barrels deemed recoverable.

The field is being developed by a consortium led by Russian company Gazprom Neft under an Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) framework. Current production stands at approximately 65,000–70,000 bpd, and the new phase is expected to push total output closer to the field’s plateau target.