Domestic drilling companies want to create a special association to consolidate their capacities and help the drilling industry reach international standards, chairman of the board of the Dana Energy Group said, IRNA reported Tuesday.
"The association will be established to help maintain national interest and develop the oil industry," Mohammad Iravani said.
It will hold regular meetings with Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh and other senior officials to explore challenges faced by the oil industry.
Evaluation of drilling companies and establishment of specialized committees is also on the association's agenda.
A group of 18 companies look to establish the association, including the National Iranian Drilling Co. (NIDC), the North Drilling Co. and Kandokave Energy Pars Co.
Iravani said the Qataris drill a well in the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf in less than 45 days, while it takes around a year for Iranians to do the same. South Pars is the world's largest gas field, shared between Iran and Qatar. It covers 3,700 square kilometers of Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf and adjoins Qatar’s North Field, measuring 6,000 square kilometers.
Dearth of drilling rigs compared to those of Arab neighbors and the often rented rigs are among major difficulties of Iranian drilling companies.
NIDC announced last month that drilling operations in Iran are fully conducted by domestic experts and some of the drilling equipment is manufactured inside the country. It also said all the imported drilling rigs over the past seven to eight years have been Chinese-made.
According to reports, 120 drilling rigs are currently operating in oil and gas fields, with 20 of them on offshore fields.
