TEHRAN - National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) dug and completed the digging operations of 93 oil and gas wells during the first 11 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2022-February 19, 2023), an official with the company said.

According to Masoud Afshar, the deputy head of NIDC for drilling operations, the drilled wells consisted of 14 development, five exploratory, and 74 workover ones, Shana reported.

The official stated that during the mentioned time span NIDC managed to dig 22 wells more than the figure for the previous year’s same period.

As reported, 72 of the drilled wells were in the operational zone of the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC), eight wells were drilled in the fields under the supervision of the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC), seven in the fields under the operation of Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC), four in the operational zone of the drilling management department of the National Iranian Oil company (NIOC) and two wells were dug in fields developed by private contractors.

Since the beginning of this year, the drilling area of the wells has reached 63,486 meters, he said and added that 19 drilling rigs are being relocated to the operational positions.

NIDC owns 70 light, heavy, and super-heavy drilling rigs, including 67 onshore drilling rigs and three offshore rigs, of which 62 were active in the first 11 months of the current year.

Back in July 2022, NIDC Head Hamidreza Golpayegani said 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, 2022).

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 the 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 digging 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