South Pars Research Articles

Energy, exergy, exergoeconomic and sensitivity analyses of modified Claus process in a gas refinery sulfur recovery unit

In this study, the sulfur recovery unit based on the modified Claus process with the split flow is simulated and the results are validated with South Pars gas refinery data. Since optimum energy consumption is essential for community development, exergoeconomic and sensitivity analyses are conducted to prevent waste production and increase energy efficiency in this unit. Energy and exergy analyses are performed to identify the equipment with low exergy efficiency and calculate their exergy destruction extent. Reaction furnace with 4178.8 kW exergy destruction has the highest rate, and then waste heat boiler and P-7 pump are placed. After the pumps, the heat exchangers have the lowest exergy efficiency so that the acid gas preheater with the value of 60% has the lowest one. All equipment investment and operating and maintenance cost calculations are carried out so that the largest cost is related to the hydrolyzing Claus bed that followed by waste heat boiler and P-7 pump. Then equipment exergoeconomic parameters such as exergoeconomic factor, cost rate of exergy destruction and relative cost difference are obtained. The lowest exergoeconomic factor among the process equipment is related to reaction furnace and second condenser with the values of 0.26% and 0.86%, respectively. The maximum exergoeconomic factor is 94% which is attributed to compressors. The reaction furnace with 4706.16 ($/h) and waste heat boiler with 4629.89 ($/h) have the highest cost rate of exergy destruction and CMPR-5 compressor with 0.2451 ($/h) has the lowest cost rate. Finally, considering some of the functional and economic parameters in the sensitivity analysis procedure, the influence of changing these variables on exergoeconomic parameters have been investigated.

Geomechanical study of gas reservoir rock using vertical seismic profile and petrophysical data (continental shelf in southern Iran)

ABSTRACTGeomechanics is a science dealing with the study of the behaviour of rocks affected by stress. It has various applications in utilisation from oil and gas reservoirs including of the wellbore stability analysis and determination of safe mud window. The main aim of this paper is geomechanical study of Kangan–Dalan reservoir in South Pars gas field in Persian Gulf in south Iran. Seismic waves are affected by physical properties of rocks when passing underground formations; thus, the velocity of these waves is a desired parameter for estimation of geomechanical properties. The velocity of compressional and shear waves has been determined with processing seismic data resulting from vertical seismic profile. In this paper, after calculation of elastic modules of reservoir rock, the imposed stress field was determined and these concepts were used for engineering calculations such as safe mud window, wellbore stability analysis and sand production potential. For well drilling in Kangan-Dalan reservoir, the minimum and maximum mud weights were proposed in average as 1.093 and 2.011 gr/cc and average critical mud weight as 2.48 gr/cc such that if the weight of mud increases, the tensile fractures will be created on the formation and complete loss of mud will happen.

Impact of H2S Content and Excess Air on Pollutant Emission in Sour Gas Flares

In sour gas flares, content like any other components in inlet gas influences adiabatic flame temperature, which, in turn, impacts on the pollutant emission. Wherever flame temperature increases, the endothermic reaction between and is accelerated, which means higher emission to the atmosphere. In this work, we developed an in-house MATLAB code to provide an environment for combustion calculations. Then, this written code was used to perform sensitivity analyses on content, air temperature, and excess air ratio in sour gas flares. We used Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports to assign weighting indexes to each air contaminant according to its harmfulness to environment; thereafter, sour gas flaring conditions were optimized for two real field case studies, namely Ahwaz (AMAK) and South Pars, to reach the minimum integrated pollutant concentrations. The results show that each 2% increase in the content of the entrance feed may produce 0.3% additional in the exhaust. The results also confirm that decreases of 20 °F and 50 °F in the oxidant temperature cause emission to reduce by 0.5% to 1% respectively. Finally, to verify and validate our results acquired from the written MATLAB code, FRNC 2012 industrial software was used to duplicate the oxidation results for the two sour flare case studies.

Process design for gas condensate desulfurization and synthesis of nano-13X zeolite adsorbent: equilibrium and dynamic studies

This paper summarizes the results of a study of adsorption of sulfur compounds from a high-sulfur feed on improved spherical-shaped nano-AgX zeolite. For this purpose, the nano-AgX zeolite was initially synthesized and improved with silver compounds such as silver nitrate, and then it was utilized in the adsorption process. In order to investigate the equilibrium and dynamics of the adsorption process, adsorptive desulfurization of real feed (i.e., sour gas condensate from the South Pars gas field) was carried out in batch and continuous processes under several operating conditions; a temperature-dependent Langmuir isotherm model was used to fit the equilibrium data. The value of monolayer adsorption capacity (qm) and adsorption enthalpy left( {Delta H} right) were calculated to be 1.044 mmol/g and 16.8 kJ/mol, respectively. Furthermore, a detailed theoretical model was employed in order to model the breakthrough experiments. The results revealed that an increase in the feed flow rate and 1/T values will cause linear and exponential increase in the total mass transfer coefficient (k_{text{s}}). Isotherm and dynamic breakthrough models were found to be in agreement with the experimental data.

Landslide susceptibility assessment of South Pars Special Zone, southwest Iran

This study assesses the landslide susceptibility of the South Pars Special Zone (SPSZ) region that is located in southwest Iran. For this purpose, a combinatorial method containing multi-criteria decision-making, likelihood ratio and fuzzy logic was applied in two levels (regional and local) at three critical zones (northwest, middle and southeast of the project area). The analysis parameters were categorised in seven main triggering factors such as climatology, geomorphology, geology, geo-structure, seismic activity, landslide prone areas and man-made activities which have different classes with multi-agent partnership correlations. Landslide susceptibility maps were prepared for these levels and zones after purified and enriched fuzzy trending runs were performed. According to the results of the risk-ability assessment of the landslide occurrences for SPSZ, the north part of the study area which includes the south edge of the Assalouyeh anticline and the southern part of the Kangan anticline were estimated as high-risk potential areas that were used in landslide hazard mitigation assessment and in land-use planning.

Ethylene glycol elimination in amine loop for more efficient gas conditioning

The gas sweetening unit of phase 2 and 3 in South Pars Gas Field (Asalouyeh, Iran) was first simulated to investigate the effect of mono ethylene glycol (MEG) in the amine loop. MEG is commonly injected into the system to avoid hydrate formation while a few amounts of MEG is usually transferred to amine gas sweetening plant. This paper aims to address the points where MEG has negative effects on gas sweetening process and what the practical ways to reduce its effect are. The results showed that in the presence of 25% of MEG in amine loop, H2S absorption from the sour gas was increased from 1.09 to 3.78 ppm. Also, the reboiler temperature of the regenerator (from 129 to 135 °C), amine degradation and required steam and consequently corrosion (1.10 to 17.20 mpy) were increased. The energy consumption and the amount of amine make-up increase with increasing MEG loading in amine loop. In addition, due to increasing benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) and heavy hydrocarbon solubility in amine solution, foaming problems were observed. Furthermore, side effects of MEG presence in sulfur recovery unit (SRU) such as more transferring BTEX to SRU and catalyst deactivation were also investigated. The use of total and/or partial fresh MDEA, install insulation and coating on the area with the high potential of corrosion, optimization of operational parameters and reduction of MEG from the source were carried out to solve the problem. The simulated results were in good agreement with industrial findings. From the simulation, it was found that the problem issued by MEG has less effect when MEG concentration in lean amine loop was kept less than 15% (as such observed in the industrial plant). Furthermore, the allowable limit, source and effects of each contaminant in amine gas sweetening were illustrated.

Geophysical strata rating (GSR) as an aid in carbonate reservoir characterisation: an example from the South Pars gas field, Persian Gulf Basin

In this study, the geophysical strata rating (GSR) is calculated from petrophysical data using the equations developed for clastic rocks. The region being investigated is the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf Basin, where the Permian–Triassic Dalan and Kangan reservoirs host the largest accumulations of gas in the world. A 3D GSR model is estimated from 3D poststack seismic data by using a probabilistic neural network model. In this study, two methodologies are used to obtain GSR values at the different scales of wireline logs and 3D seismic data.Strong correlations between neural network predictions and actual GSR data at a blind well prove the validity of the intelligent model for estimating GSR. The GSR results are also in good agreement with porosity and elastic moduli of these carbonate rocks. Discrimination between the reservoir and non-reservoir shaly units can easily be obtained by comparing GSR and well logs. Very low GSR values with high gamma ray log responses indicate shaly intervals. These can cause washouts, casing collapse and other related drilling problems. Intervals with low GSR values and low gamma ray log responses indicate the presence of good reservoir units.

Modified Bayesian Network–Based Risk Analysis of Construction Projects: Case Study of South Pars Gas Field Development Projects

AbstractConstruction projects face substantial hazards and losses due to their increasing complexity. Therefore, risk management plays an undeniable role in avoidance and mitigation of extended tim...

Advanced exergy analysis of heat exchanger network in a complex natural gas refinery

In this paper, the advanced exergy analysis was used to determine the avoidable and unavoidable exergy destructions of the heat exchanger networks (HENs) in a complex natural gas refinery in the South Pars gas field, focusing only on the improvement of the avoidable part. Exergy balances were evaluated for the HENs and the equations of advanced exergy destruction and exergetic efficiency for the HENs were developed. The total exergetic efficiency of the HEN in the plant was determined to be 62.8% that could be increased up to 84.2%, suggesting a high potential for improvement. Also, it was shown that the HEN1 had the most severe condition in the plant with the highest inefficiencies among the other networks. The avoidable and inevitable irreversibilities were calculated for all the heat exchangers running in the plant network. The advanced exergy analysis revealed that the exergy destruction had two major contributors. First, about 59% of the total irreversibility of the system was avoidable and could be eliminated by the well-known optimization techniques. Secondly, only 18 most inefficient heat exchangers (17% in numbers) contributed to more than 61% of the total exergy destruction in the plant network. Hence, there was a high potential for improvement of the operational cost in such a huge consuming energy system.

SO2 and NOx Analysis from Low Pressure Flares in South Pars Gas Field in Iran

SO2 and NOx Analysis from Low Pressure Flares in South Pars Gas Field in Iran

Fuzzy Wastewater Quality Index Determination for Environmental Quality Assessment under Uncertain and Vagueness Conditions

Utilization of water in different parts of industrial life cycles brings a huge concern on environmental water and wastewater pollutions. In this research, environmental quality assessment of wastewater is studied using fuzzy logic. Fuzzy appliance is due to existance of statistical considerations (including standard deviations), various uncertainties, non-linearity and complexity of functions. A Mamdani fuzzy inference system (FIS) is developed for prediction of a fuzzy wastewater quality index (FWWQI) where four variables of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and pH are considered. To assess the performance of the proposed index under actual conditions, water quality data of refineries at South Pars Special Economic and Energy Zone, Iran, are employed in the time interval from 2011 to 2014. Findings of this research indicated that only BOD and COD were the dominant pollutants for about 66% and 34% of analyzed time, respectively, which exceeds the standards. Moreover, the time pattern for the output indices represents that FWWQI varied from Moderate in 2011 to Good in 2014. In addition, comparison of the FWWQI results with two conventional classic methodologies indicated that the proposed fuzzy method well covers the two classic methodologies. Finally, it is noticed that all three proposed WQIs exhibit correspondingly Good level in the year 2014. Thus, the time pattern for the parameters and indices express continual improvement as outcome of ISO 14001 and HSE-MS.

Hydrodesulfurization unit for natural gas condensate

Nowadays, most of the world’s energy consumption is from fossil fuels. One of these fossil fuels is natural gas condensate which consists of various hydrocarbon components and could be used as the main fuel resource. However, these condensates contain sulfur contents (0.048 mass%) such as hydrogen sulfide, thiols (mercaptan), and aromatics, which are known as environmental pollutants. Hence, these sour hydrocarbon resources need to be purified to reduce the sulfur content. This study concerns the desulfurization of the natural gas condensate of South Pars field of Iran along with the elimination of disulfide oils of South Pars refinery, through hydrodesulfurization approach, which is simulated using Aspen Plus software. To reduce operating costs, unused hydrogen in outlet stream is recovered by the amine treatment. Purified condensates contain “petroleum cuts” which are classified by their boiling point ranges. These petroleum cuts from distillation unit are composed of butane, light naphtha, heavy naphtha, kerosene, and gasoil. The aim of this study is to reduce the sulfur content of these hydrocarbon cuts to less than 10 ppmw. The simulation results showed that the final products of distillation column were sulfur free (with sulfur content less than 1 ppmw). In this article, one optimization problem is formulated and solved using Aspen Plus software, to obtain the optimal stripper reflux ratio and feed stage. The objective function chosen in our optimization study is the minimization of the sulfur mass fraction at the bottom of stripper. To reduce the energy consumption, the effect of the reflux ratio on the reboiler and condenser duty was also studied by performing a sensitivity analysis. It was found that in the reflux ratio range from 3 up to 3.5 not only the mass fraction of sulfur at the bottom of the stripper was reduced but also the reboiler and condenser duty was minimized.

Application of an Adaptive Neuro-fuzzy Inference System and Mathematical Rate of Penetration Models to Predicting Drilling Rate

The rate of penetration (ROP) is one of the vital parameters which directly affects the drilling time and costs. There are various parameters that influence the drilling rate; they include weight on bit, rotational speed, mud weight, bit type, formation type, and bit hydraulic. Several approaches, including mathematical models and artificial intelligence have been proposed to predict the rate of penetration. Previous research has showed that artificial intelligence such as neural network and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system are superior to conventional methods in the prediction of drilling rate. On the other hand, many complicated analytical ROP models have also been developed during recent years that are able to predict drilling rate with a high degree of accuracy. Therefore, comparing different approaches to find the most accurate model and assess the conditions in which each model works well can be highly effective in reducing drilling time as well as drilling cost. In this study, Hareland-Rampersad (HR) model, Bourgoyne and Young (BY) model, and an adaptive-neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) are employed to predict the drilling rate in the South Pars gas field (SP) offshore of Iran, and their results are compared to find the best ROP-prediction model for each formation. A database covering the drilling parameters, sonic log data, and modular dynamic test data collected from several drilling sites in SP are used to construct the mentioned models for each formation. The results show that when a large amount of data is available, the ANFIS is more accurate than the other approaches in predicting drilling rate. In the case of ROP models, BY model works considerably better than HR model for the majority of the formations. However, in formations where some drilling parameters are constant, but formation strength is variable, HR model shows better prediction performance than BY model.

E&P Notes (July 2018)

E&P Notes How ConocoPhillips Solved its Big Data Problem Matt Zborowski, Technology Writer In doing basic analysis on something such as well performance, an engineer can spend weeks merely collecting data related to the subsurface, operations, maintenance, and finance. Staff at Conoco Phillips, however, can bypass this time-consuming data curation process and begin performing analysis right off the bat thanks to a program that was years in the making. Recently scaled across its organization, the Houston independent’s integrated data warehouses (IDWs) serve as centralized data stores for staff involved in various disciplines including operations, production engineering, well construction, reservoir engineering, and geoscience. Deployment has resulted in improved well uptime, decreased drilling times, optimized completion designs, and increased understanding of subsurface characteristics, the company said. Total Prepares Exit From Big Iran Project as US Sanctions Renewed Matt Zborowski, Technology Writer Total said it will pull out of the South Pars 11 (SP11) gas project in Iran to avoid exposure to renewed US sanctions on the country unless the company is granted a waiver. The French supermajor relies heavily on the US financially and has investments and business operations in 23 states spanning upstream, midstream, downstream, and marketing. US banks are involved in more than 90% of the company’s financing operations, US shareholders represent more than 30% of its shareholding, and its US assets represent more than $10 billion of capital employed, it said. US President Donald Trump on 8 May announced that the US would withdraw from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly referred to as the Iran nuclear deal, and rein-state sanctions enforced before JCPOA took effect, subject to certain winddown periods. European participants in JCPOA remain supportive of the deal. Marriage of Ideas Could Allow More Deepwater Gas to Shore Stephen Rassenfoss, JPT Emerging Technology Senior Editor Lee Thomas admits he and his wife talk about some things most couples don’t. The thing is that he and his spouse, Laura Liebana, are engineers with overlapping interests. His expertise is pipelines and hers is flow assurance. They met while working on pipeline systems used to transport gas from coal seams in Australia. They moved on to offshore work in the Intecsea/Worley Parsons London office where they faced a problem common to those contrasting environments. There are fields in both that produce a mix of gas and liquid and where the energy required to move the mix through a pipe-line significantly limits how much can be produced using natural pressure, among other problems. Shallow Ports Keep US From Exporting Even More Crude Trent Jacobs, Digital Editor The US might be exporting even more oil, and commanding higher prices for it, if only it had the right port facilities. A new report from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) found that while US crude shipments continue to rise at an impressive rate since a nearly 40-year government ban was lifted in 2015, exports are constrained by an inability to accommodate Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). Exports averaged 1.1 million B/D in 2017 and have expanded to 1.6 million B/D in the first half of this year. Crude exports were less than 500,000 B/D in 2016. Almost all of these exports originate from the US Gulf Coast where most loading facilities are located in shallow inland harbors—a factor that has severely limited the use of VLCCs to move oil overseas. ConocoPhillips Considering Sale of North Sea Assets? Stephen Whitfield, Senior Staff Writer ConocoPhillips is preparing to sell its fields in the North Sea, according to a Reuters report. Citing sources in the oil and gas industry and in banking, the news agency said the operator’s decision is part of an overall effort to focus on US shale operations. While ConocoPhillips has not launched a formal process or appointed a bank to manage a potential sale, the report said that the company’s executives have had discussions with a number of North Sea operators and bankers in the region to test the waters. Reuters said that the sale could net as much as $2 billion, though it was not clear how much of ConocoPhillips’ portfolio would be available, or if the company would put its Norwegian North Sea assets up as well. The company has operated in the North Sea for more than 45 years, with significant developments in both the UK and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea. These developments include fields in Greater Britannia, the J-Area, and the Southern North Sea fields in the UK, along with the Greater Ekofisk Area in Norway.

Simulation of CO2 removal from ethane with Sulfinol-M+AMP solvent instead of DEA solvent in the South Pars phases 9 and 10 gas processing facility

Abstract Raw gas gathered from well production has to be treated to extract its ethane, to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from it and to dry it, so that the send-out ethane gas complies with transport constraints and meets sales-gas specifications. Two distinct families of solvents are used generically for such gas treatment: chemical and physical solvents. The South Pars gas field development phases 9 and 10 feeds gas and natural gas liquids into a processing and fractionation plant (one of the largest gas processing plants in Iran), and is associated with concentrations of 5.37% mole CO2 in the raw gas produced. Furthermore, there are potential problems associated with the CO2 treatment, such as the high-energy requirements for amine solvent regeneration, corrosion caused by aqueous amine solvents and waste/losses (solubility, vaporization) of the solvent used to remove CO2 in the ethane treatment unit. A feasibility simulation study was conducted to evaluate the utilization of Sulfinol-M + AMP solvent (Sulfolane plus Methyl di-ethanol amine plus 2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (AMP) plus H2O) to replace the aqueous amine solvent (DEA) currently used in the ethane treatment unit of South Pars phases 9 and 10 gas processing plant. The simulation of the Sulfinol-M + AMP process demonstrates less energy consumption (11241.242 kw versus 11290.398 kw for DEA), negligible corrosion and lower losses of solvent (376.493 kg/h versus 409.2421 kg/h) relative to alternative solvents considered, because of its low vapor pressure.

Controlling disturbances of islanding in a gas power plant via fuzzy-based neural network approach with a focus on load-shedding system

In a number of power plants such as the South Pars Gas Company, efficient control performance regarding the turbine generator is always needed to avoid facing disturbances of islanding in the supply of power, at each instance of time. It is particularly important to deal with through state-of-the-art techniques, due to the fact that the separation of the electrical grid may increase or reduce the speed of the above-referenced turbine generator and correspondingly the frequency, in its permitted range, may be deviated to stop power generation, abruptly. With this key goal, a set of control strategies through the representation of the gas turbine via Rowen is proposed in the present research. In a word, there are some classical and intelligence-based control approaches to cope with the disturbance of islanding with a focus on load-shedding system. In reality, the proposed investigation is mainly concentrating on the fuzzy-based neural network control approach to cope with the turbulence of frequency deviation. The main contribution made in this research is to deal with gas turbine model in association with generator in conjunction with load-shedding system, while intelligence-based techniques considering fuzzy, neural network and genetic algorithm are synchronously established to design the control strategy with high accuracy. In the sequel, the effectiveness of the proposed intelligence-based control approach is verified, while the classical proportional-integral-derivative control approach via the Ziegler–Nichols and also the simulated annealing tuning processes are taken as the benchmarks.

Prediction of gas hydrate formation in the presence of methanol, ethanol, (ethylene, diethylene and triethylene) glycol thermodynamic inhibitors

ABSTRACTHydrate formation is a serious, fundamental problem in the blocking of process equipment and pipelines in gas transportation pipelines. The objective of the present work is the simulation of the pipelines in the 15th and 16th phases of South Pars and investigation of operating conditions for hydrate formation. The effects of injecting various thermodynamic inhibitors on the hydrate formation conditions have also been studied. According to the simulation results, investigation of the operational reasons and the cost of these compounds, pure methanol and monoethylene glycol were determined as the best inhibitors for gas flow rates of 500 and 1000 mmscfd.

Determining the effectiveness of Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) management system based on anomaly report measurement in oil projects

Today, development of a Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) management system which can protect human resources and the environment, while remaining accountable for demands of the companies involved in the large and national projects, seems to be essential. Certificates issued for developing such management systems are an evidence for the claim on existence of HSE management systems. However, the question which still remains is whether the established systems have any real effect on the organization’s performance in HSE management. Do the instruments designed to measure the performance of an HSE management system properly reflect the performance realities? This study seeks to measure the field performance of companies based on indicators of anomalies (reporting all cases of potential damage) and compare it with scores of HSE management system performance obtained by MCAT, in order to find out whether the companies having more robust management systems, especially those with a management certificate, gain better results in practice. A total of 24 contractor companies involved in construction of Phase 19 of South Pars were randomly selected from the statistical population and studied for 6 months in terms of operating results and management system performance. The obtained results were analyzed using a statistical software. Comparisons between the two groups of companies (with and without a certificate) in terms of management system score indicated the superiority of the group with a certificate. The superiority, however, was negligible with a difference score of 3.69 compared to the total score of 200. Considering the incident indicator, the average severity rate of incidents in the companies with a certificate was lower than in the ones without a certificate. However, the abundance indicator and its level revealed a better condition in the companies without a certificate. Considering the number of the anomalies reported per one million total man-hours worked, the companies without a certificate (with 821.5 anomalies) superperformed the companies with a certificate (with 937.8 anomalies). The number of lost working days to close each anomaly per one million total man-hours worked was calculated to be 283.9 lost working days for the companies with a certificate and 317.1 working days for the companies without a certificate, showing the better performance of the companies with a certificate.

Gas Condensate Wells Simulation to Optimize Well Flow Performance Using Tubing Equations Coupled with Inflow-Performance-Relation (IPR) Curve

Wells performance is evaluated by IPR curves that show the relationship between bottomhole pressure and inflow rate. This curve and its outcome equation can be applied for production schedule and maintenance management of well and reservoir. But, the measuring of bottomhole pressure to approach these curves needs much time and high expenses and also running special tools in wells. In these operations, the probability of catastrophic failure such as well damage or well complete lost may exist. However, these difficulties in offshore wells like production platform in the South Pars gas field that are installed tens kilometers far from lands are harder than any places. Therefore, nowadays by considering these difficulties, there is a high tendency for using wellhead test data that are very inexpensive as well as these data are less accurate than in well data. Moreover, pressure drop due to the existence of gas condensate in well fluid causes the flow regime to be more complicated. Wide researches have been applied to two-phase flow pressure drop in the wellbore and a lot of equations are considered. Anyhow, these equations and their accuracy should be studied in each special case. In this study that is on the south Pars gas condensate field wells, widespread of equations are utilized for calculation of pressure drop in the tubing and they are applied for tubing performance curve as well. In the south pars field wells, the well data of bottomhole pressure are not being measured during production. In this paper, we try to calculate bottomhole pressure by using PIPESIM software and simulating reservoir fluid and wellbore. For calculating this pressure, with the combination of effective conditions, the best equation of flow regime in that well will be selected. Eventually, by simulation of the reservoir fluid, different parameters like in well performance and proper tubing size is calculated.

Focus: An unprecedented challenging situation!

In the last nine months - and especially after the massive popular protests at the turn of 2017-2018 - a struggle has arisen across Iran’s industry and workforce, one which has gained fierce impetus and which shows no sign of abating any time soon. In addition to their urgent demands for unpaid wages and salaries, working people have also targeted the policies of regime which have brought about the widespread privatisation and plunder of national resources; attempts to remove requirements for occupational safety and the right to form independent union organisations; continual efforts to raid the social security fund and the retirement schemes paid for by workers; and government schemes for the deregulation of labour markets and labour relations. The growth and spread of the workers’ protest movement has been one of the important features of the country's political scene in recent months. The implementation of anti-popular policies such as privatisation and economic liberalisation has imposed very tough conditions for the working class, who can no longer bear this situation. The strike of the workers at Hepco, the Haftappeh sugar cane complex workers and that of the truck drivers, as well as the onslaught by law enforcement and security forces on the workers of the Ahvaz National Steel Industrial Group - along with and dozens of other protests and strikes - reflect the growing grievances of Iran’s working people. In addition to the strikes and meetings in workshops and factories throughout the country, some significant protests took place at some of the most important industrial-manufacturing plants which employ a considerable number of industrial and technical workers. These include Hepco, Polyacryl, various parts of the national railways, parts of the operational phases of the South Pars gas field, Tabriz Machine Tools Manufacturing Company, Kerman copper mining and the refineries in Elam and Kermanshah. The atmosphere in these key manufacturing plants is filled with discontent, tension and volatility. The growing number of protests by teachers, who form an integral part of the trade union movement in Iran, must also be mentioned. These have been violently crushed by the regime’s security forces in recent weeks. Their main demands include job security, fair wages, abolition of temporary contracts, payment of unpaid and late wages and opposition to privatisation. Prospect of US economic sanctions These protest movements are taking place in the wake of the political developments and challenges affecting Iran which arise from the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) nuclear agreement. This is resulting in a realignment of the regime’s political forces and factions and is therefore deemed to be very important. Poverty, unemployment and lack of job security are the main factors behind these protests. Continuous devaluation of the currency coupled with inflation has brought more poverty to an already struggling working class. Over the past 3 months Iranian currency has lost half its exchange value. Workers complain that their wages are in rials (Iranian currency) while their expenditures are in US dollars. According to official statistics, the accommodation price index in Tehran has increased some 33 percent in the last 12 months prior to last winter. Over the same period, the housing rental index has increased by 26.6 percent. Furthermore, prices of goods and services have increased by 35 percent resulting in an ever higher cost of living and more hardship. Even Faramarz Toufighi, the workers’ representative on the official ‘Supreme Labour Council’ acknowledges that the situation is catastrophic: It is anticipated that by the first of August the inflation for items in the basket of living consumer goods will be dazzling. A leap of 40 percent in poultry prices, a 30 percent jump in meat prices, a 18 percent jump in rice and oil prices, and a 28 percent jump in housing and … indicates that government agencies have given up all attempts to control the spiralling inflation. He predicts that: 83 percent of workers live under the existence threshold. Given the recent policies of the US administration in attempting to torpedo the 5+1 nuclear deal with Iran and renewed threats of economic sanctions - and even military intervention - the economy has been seriously affected. The flight of capital in recent months...