The National Iranian Drilling Company possesses 75 drilling rigs, 50 of which could be utilized in joint oilfields, managing director of NIDC said.
"Currently, there are 114 drilling rigs operating in joint onshore oilfields," Bahman Heidari said. "The NIDC is also ready to dispatch offshore drilling rigs whenever needed," IRNA reported.
"Iran's oilfields are among the most complicated in the world, but Iran's oil industry has 100 years of experience. Hence, drilling procedures have become indigenized over the past decades."
More than 70% of drilling operations in the joint fields are carried out by NIDC.
In the past three decades, around 4,000 wells, or 8.5 million meters, were drilled by the NIDC. It drilled close to 382,700 meters of offshore and onshore oil and gas wells in the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2015).
Last year's drilling operations showed a 43,000-meter year-on-year increase, or approximately 9 %.
NIDC is currently responsible for drilling rigs operated by the National Iranian South Oil Company, Petroleum Engineering and Development Company, Iranian Offshore Oil Company and Iranian Central Oil Fields Company.
Drilling operations are underway in 10 provinces and stretch from Sarakhs in Khorasan Razavi Province in northeast to central and southern regions, including the South Pars Gas Field. Iran has 26 oil and gas fields shared with neighboring countries, including onshore fields to its west, jointly owned with Iraq, and offshore fields in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman.
