Iran is 85% self-sufficient in manufacturing parts and equipment needed by the oil and gas industries, the head of the Association of Iranian Petroleum Industries Equipment Manufacturers said.
“Currently, 820 companies are members of the association, which meet 85% of the needs of the petroleum industry,” IRNA also quoted Majid Mohammadpour as saying.
Iran achieved self-sufficiency in the field of equipment manufacturing after domestic companies acquired the knowhow.
“All stages of the design, engineering, construction and installation are undertaken by local experts and engineers, which have been achieved through the efforts of the research and development departments in Iranian firms,” he said.
“In recent years, 12,000 items have been indigenized in the oil-rich regions of southern Iran, some of which are strategic items made in collaboration with knowledge-based companies.”
The Association of Iranian Petroleum Industry Equipment Manufacturers is a private and non-profit organization founded in 2000.
Most of the Iran’s petroleum equipment are now designed, engineered and manufactured locally. These include items such as gas and steam turbines, process pumps, air and gas compressors, industrial valves, pressure vessels, heat exchangers, tanks, air coolers, towers, boilers, pipes, fittings, catalysts, drilling bits, wellhead equipment, drilling rig, control and dispatching systems, instruments, switchgears, high voltage cables and accessories.
Currently, Iran ranks first in the Middle East in the production of oil industry equipment despite the US sanctions.
In May 2018, the US withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action signed between Iran and P5+1 in July 2015, and reimposed unilateral sanctions on Iran.
Still in place, the draconian sanctions have mainly targeted Iranian oil and banking sectors. However, despite all the difficulties caused by the sanctions, the oil industry has progressed in the past four years with the help of local experts.
Major Contributors
Several companies in the field have endeavored for years to reduce dependence on foreign countries.
The National Iranian Gas Company has planned to indigenize 29 key equipment in the gas industry by 2024 and signed several contracts worth $23 million with domestic knowledge-based companies.
Within three years, the country's gas industry will stop importing these strategic items from European countries such as France and Germany.
While the locally-made items will have the same quality as their foreign counterparts and accord with national and international standards, their production cost will be less than half that of foreign ones.
NIGC has already indigenized several parts and equipment used in the gas industry and reduced the import of equipment worth $300 million per year.
The National Iranian Drilling Company is also collaborating with domestic manufactures to indigenize equipment and parts used in drilling projects.
Its goal is to empower domestic industries and boost the quality of equipment manufactured inside the country.
NIDC's research, technology and engineering departments indigenized 5,000 equipment in the past two decades, most of which are used in offshore and onshore rigs.
Several refineries have also been making efforts to manufacture other parts.
Bandar Abbas Oil Refinery in Hormozgan Province has indigenized 6,900 parts and equipment via reverse engineering.
Annually, about 150 equipment are localized in the refinery, in cooperation with knowledge-based companies and domestic producers.
Supporting Iranian production and local producers to help continue domestic production is one of the policies of Bandar Abbas Oil Refinery Company.
Likewise, by utilizing the expertise and efforts of domestic companies and manufacturers, more than 85% of the parts and equipment required by the Isfahan Oil Refining Company are now met inside the country, without the need for imports.
In the last Iranian year [March 2020-21], $20 million were spent on buying parts from domestic companies, the import of which would have cost three to four times more.
