NIDC Expands Khuzestan Operations

By employing 74 offshore and onshore rigs, the National Iranian Drilling Company has drilled over 53,400 meters of oil and gas wells nationwide, Hamidreza Khoshayand, the NIDC managing director said.

On plans to expand drilling operations, he told the Mehr News Agency that his company has completed the operations for 27 offshore and onshore oil and gas wells since the beginning of the current fiscal in March, of which 8 were exploratory and 19 needed overhauls, he added.

Stressing that operations were completed ahead of schedule, Khoshayand noted that 20 wells were drilled for oilfields under the supervision of the National Iranian South Oil Company in Khuzestan Province.

Moreover, NIDC developed six wells for the Petroleum Engineering and Development Company in West Karoun oilfields. The company was also assigned to drill one well for the Iranian Offshore Oil Company that was completed successfully. The state-run company utilizes modern drilling methods in addition to complying with health, safety and environment regulations, he added.

Asked abbot Fat'h-72 drilling rig, which has been designed and built by the Research Training Center of Tehran University, Khoshayand said the rig is being overhauled with help of domestic experts to join NIDC's fleet in the near future.

NIDC was founded in 1979 and operates as a subsidiary of National Iranian Oil Company. It engages in the exploration, development and delineation drilling of oil and gas wells, especially in the joint oilfields, namely South Azadegan, 80 kilometers west of Ahvaz in Khuzestan along the Iraq border, Azar in Ilam Province as well as South Pars, the world's largest gas field shared between Iran and Qatar in the Persian Gulf.

The company’s services include well logging, cementing and acidizing, drill stem test, well testing, training, development and general services.

NIDC is in charge of offshore and onshore drilling activities. It provides more than 90% of drilling services needed by oil companies inside the country.