TEHRAN - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Iranian Association of Manufacturers of Oil Industry Equipment said nearly 85 percent of the country’s oil industry equipment are produced based on indigenized knowledge and technology, IRNA reported.

Speaking in a press conference on Sunday, Sirous Talari said 65 percent of the knowledge and technology required by the oil industry is produced inside the country, and 20 percent is also become indigenized through reverse engineering, that means a total 85 percent of the oil industry’s required technology and knowledge is available in the country.

The official noted that Iran has a capacity to export over $5 billion worth of oil industry equipment and knowledge every year and the government should invest on such a great potential.

Talari further said that there is no country all around the world which could be able to supply all its industrial needs on its own, because industry is like a chain and being self-sufficient doesn’t mean being able to produce everything on your own.

He said that on average the need for foreign raw materials in Iran’s oil industry is below 30 percent and over 70 percent of the manufacturers are supplied by domestic sources and the country’s oil, gas and petrochemical industry has undergone a revolution.

Earlier in August, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) 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