"With the help of 3 offshore and 69 onshore rigs, NIDC, a subsidiary of National Iranian Oil Company, has drilled 174,000 meters of oil and gas wells nationwide," Mohammad Ale-Khamis was quoted as saying by Shana, the Oil Ministry news portal.
Of the total, 57 were development and exploratory wells and 66 underwent repairs. Furthermore, 11 wells were completed ahead of schedule.
NIDC undertakes both offshore and onshore drilling and provides more than 90% of drilling services needed by domestic oil companies, Financial Tribune reported.
"The wells were drilled in oilfields managed by the National Iranian South Oil Company, the Iranian Offshore Oil Company and the Petroleum Engineering and Development Company in the West Karoun oil block that includes several large oilfields straddling the Iran-Iraq border, namely Yaran, Yadavaran and Darkhoein," Ale-Khamis said.
NIDC is involved in 70% of onshore drilling and has 72 drilling rigs 69 of which are used in oilfields owned jointly with neighbors, namely the Azar and South Pars fields.
The company is willing to undertake drilling operations and subsidiary services overseas.
“We are in talks with countries in the region, including Iraq, for future collaboration.” he was quoted as saying.
According to Behnoud Mansournezhad, head of NIDC's Technology and Engineering Department, the company has indigenized 5,000 more drilling parts in collaboration with domestic manufacturers and engineers over two decades.
The indigenized equipment include drilling mud pumps, blowout preventers, traction motors, draw-works, drilling fluid recycling systems, mission centrifugal pumps, top drives, and drilling rig slow circulation rate pressure systems.
"Contracts have been signed with 360 local companies for producing 600 pieces like electric brakes and casing wrenches," he said, adding that almost 75% of drilling and oil equipment producers are based in oil-rich Khuzestan Province and the rest in Tehran, Isfahan and Fars provinces.
According to the NIDC news portal, of the 1.2 million parts and equipment need for the oil and gas industry, almost 800,000 are produced by domestic companies.