TEHRAN - Managing Director of National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) says his company has successfully indigenized the knowledge for the production of over 1,000 oil equipment items over the past 12 months, Shana reported.

Speaking in a ceremony on the occasion of the Ten-Day Dawn (anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution) on Saturday, Ahmad Mohammadi said: “since the past [Iranian calendar month of] Bahman (ended on February 20, 2019) up to date, we have managed to indigenize over 1000 necessary items in the oil industry in collaboration with the private sector.”

According to the official, this success is an indication of the country’s determination for neutralizing the negative impacts of the U.S. sanctions on the country’s oil industry as much as possible.

NISOC has been seriously pursuing a program for supporting domestic producers in the oil industry.

Back in December 2019, the company released a list of 7500 equipment items needed in the country’s oil industry, to be manufactured by domestic producers.
The list was unveiled at the opening ceremony of the 11th Khuzestan Specialized Exhibition of Domestic Manufacturing of Petroleum and the 17th Drilling Industry Equipment Exhibition in the southwestern province.

Earlier that month, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Iranian Association of Manufacturers of Oil Industry Equipment said nearly 85 percent of the country’s oil industry equipment is produced based on indigenized knowledge and technology.

According to Sirous Talari, Iran even has the capacity to export over $5 billion worth of oil industry equipment and knowledge every year and the government should invest in such great potential.

In August 2019, the National Iranian Oil Company announced that many of the company’s contracts with domestic manufacturers of oil industry equipment had reached over 70 percent of physical progress.

NIOC has been signing deals with capable domestic companies for manufacturing all kinds of oil industry equipment, including down-hole tools and equipment, pumps, types of drill bits, all kinds of control and safety valves, and accessory equipment, as well as various pipe types, explosion-proof electro motors, turbines, compressors, alloy steels, drilling measuring tools, and etc.

Following the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions and the problems caused by high volatility and rising exchange rates in the country’s currency market, Iran’s oil ministry was faced with some problems regarding the supply of necessary equipment in the oil industry, so it applied new strategies to focus more on domestic production.

EF/MA