TEHRAN – The number of oil and gas wells dug by National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21) has increased by 25 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the NIDC head.

“The number of wells completed in the country's onshore and offshore areas using the company's drilling fleet has increased by 25 percent since the beginning of this year compared to the same period last year,” Shana quoted Hamidreza Golpayegani as saying.

The official noted that 30 wells were dug in the mentioned period, of which two were development wells, three were exploratory wells and 25 were workover wells.

As for the workover wells, 24 wells were in the operation zone of National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC), three were in the Iranian Offshore Oil Company’s operational area and three were in the regions under the supervisor of National Iranian Oil Company, Golpayegani said.

Since the beginning of this year, the drilling area of the wells has reached 30,037 meters.

According to the NIDC head, the number of drilling rigs operated by the company has also increased by one in the current year.

He further noted that his company has signed several memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with the country’s knowledge-based companies to cooperate in various areas including research, technology, construction engineering, procurement, and equipment affairs.

“This year, in order to use the capacities of domestic manufacturers, producers, knowledge-based institutions, scientific and research centers, effective negotiations have been done and joint cooperation documents are signed,” he said.

NIDC managed to dig and complete 75 oil and gas wells in the past Iranian calendar year 1400 (ended on March 20).

According to the company data, 56 of the mentioned wells were drilled in the operational zone of the NISOC, 10 wells were drilled in the fields under the supervision of the IOOC, three in the fields under the operation of the Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC), one in the field under the supervisor of Iranian Central Oil Fields Company (ICOFC), three wells in the framework of project and two in the operational zone of the drilling management department of National Iranian Oil company.

Some 76,125 meters of drilling were conducted for drilling the mentioned wells.

Considering the National Iranian Oil Company’s strategies for strengthening the presence of domestic companies in the development of the country’s oil fields, NIDC, as a major subsidiary of the company, has been supporting such companies by lending them drilling rigs and other necessary equipment.

EF/MA