TEHRAN – Iran’s Tasdid Offshore and Onshore Development Company and Russia’s OJSC Krasnye Barrikady Shipyard signed a deal worth $1 billion to cooperate in building jack-up rigs in Iran, Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.

According to the report, signing this agreement Iran has stepped toward indigenizing the manufacturing of such rigs for the first time.

In the signing ceremony, Tasdid’s Managing Director Ehsan Allah Mousavi said that the agreement covers building of five jack-up rigs.

Mousavi also noted that the marine structures will be built in Khorramshahr Yard (in southwest of Iran) and each rig will take two years to be completed.

According to Tasnim, based on the agreement for the first rig, 58 percent of the work will be executed by Iranian side and as the project proceeds, technology transfer and brainstorming of Iranian shipping engineers will increase this figure gradually.

In the event Mousavi also underscored a tripartite cooperation between Iran, China and Russia in overhaul for repairing of drilling rigs and said, “In cooperation with a reputable Chinese enterprise, an offshore and onshore drilling rig repair center will be opened in Khorramshahr soon.”

“The project will be financed by Russians and renting the rigs for oil and gas projects it is expected that the fund will be repaid with interest in 5 years,” he added.

EF/MA