5 February Update:
Ahmad Ghalehbani, Managing Director of the Iranian National Oil Company said in a translated statement that recovering the sunken jacket of South Pars oil field from the seabed is feasible in the coming weeks if it has not been seriously damaged, but that a realistic assessment of the jacket is needed before a recovery is executed.
He added that SADRA, the Iranian shipbuilding and marine repair yard, had been granted the contract for all stages of the project including design, construction, roll up and installation, and will be held financially responsible.
The root cause of the incident is still being investigated, however weather and a very soft seabed appear to be the main causes of the incident which resulted the jacket tipping over and sinking unexpectedly.
He also clarified that if the recovery of the jacket fails, SADRA is obligated to construct a new jacket which may delay this project by at least 5 months.
Earlier post:
This story was initially reported on January 30th citing a press release on the Iranian Pars Oil and Gas website. $40 million was the number placed on the value of what sank off Iran.
An update from the Pars Oil and Gas website today proves what is abundantly clear by watching this video. The sinking structure is the “jacket,” or the structure used to support the topside production facility which has yet to be installed. Jackets such as this one do not cost $40 million to make.