TEHRAN- While the development of Iran’s oil and gas industry has never been halted by the U.S. sanctions, and also not hindered by the coronavirus pandemic, the industry has been even experiencing major progress and development in different sectors.

One of the major areas with proper development has been the digging industry.

Not only the digging operations of oil and gas wells have been conducted as expected, this sector has also managed to indigenize the know-how to manufacture some major parts and equipment.

Back in May, an official with the National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) said that the company has indigenized the knowledge for manufacturing 6,000 drilling equipment in collaboration with domestic manufacturers and engineers in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19).

According to Behnoud Mansournejad, the head of NIDC's Technology and Engineering Department, before this success, the technology for manufacturing the mentioned equipment was in the possession of a handful of foreign companies.

Among this equipment, the parts related to the rotary Blow out Preventers (BOP) used in air drilling operations have been tested in operation and approved by the operational units for optimal performance.

Mansournejad said that the use of the domestically-made parts and equipment saved the country 45 billion rials (about $107 million) in the previous year.

For the current year, a list of basic equipment needs of the country have been identified in collaboration with NIDC’s operational and support departments to be indigenized by local companies and knowledge-based firms for the first time, he added.

Besides the measures taken for indigenizing the manufacturing of parts and equipment required in the digging industry, NIDC has also achieved outstanding successes in conducting the digging operation.

The most recent report in this due shows that the National Iranian Drilling Company has dug 64 oil and gas wells during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-September 21).

Some 36,547 meters of digging has been conducted for the mentioned onshore and offshore wells.

The drilled wells consisted of 21 development/appraisal wells, 42 workover wells, and one exploration well.

Holding 70 onshore and offshore drilling rigs as well as equipment and facilities for offering integrated technical and engineering services, the National Iranian Drilling Company accounts for a major part of drilling exploration as well as appraisal/development wells in the country.

As previously announced, the company has dug over 240 oil and gas wells across the country in the past two years.

MA/MA