News   /   Economy

Iran ends US, UK monopoly on drilling rig overhaul know-how: Official

File photo shows Iran's Amir Kabir semi-submersible drilling rig

Managing director of an Iranian shipbuilding company says the country has achieved the technical know-how to fully overhaul oil and gas drilling rigs, putting an end to the monopoly swayed by the United States and the UK in the field.

Abbas Raeisi, managing director of Bahr Gostaresh Hormoz Company, an affiliate of the Iran Shipbuilding and Offshore Industries Complex Company (ISOICO) was quoted by Iranian media as saying that the achievement was made despite sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic by the United States and European countries over Tehran’s civilian nuclear program.

“At the height of unjust sanctions against Iran, the Iran Shipbuilding and Offshore Industries Complex Company started overhauling drilling rigs and managed to break new grounds in this regard,” he added.

The official stated that up to two years ago, the technology needed for overhauling oil and gas drilling rigs was monopolized by the American and British companies.

“Therefore, all Iranian rigs, which needed to be overhauled, were taken to Dubai” in the United Arab Emirates, Raeisi said.

The official added that by taking advantage of cutting-edge technology for the overhaul of drilling rigs, ISOICO has been able to overhaul such structures at a cost that is 30 percent lower than that of the littoral Arab states in the Persian Gulf.

“Three rigs have been overhauled by Bahr Gostaresh Hormoz Company during the past two years, the last of which was the MAP Driller rig, which has been discharged from the company’s yard,” he noted, adding that the overhaul of three more rigs has been recently ordered to the ISOICO.

Earlier in June, an Iranian oil industry official said the Islamic Republic has acquired the necessary technology to build offshore oil and gas drilling rigs inside the country.

Speaking to reporters in a ceremony held to sign a contract with the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade for building five offshore drilling rigs, Managing Director of Razavi Oil and Gas Development Company Ali Yadeqar said the technical know-how to build offshore oil rigs exists in Iran.

“Some 58 percent of the first rig will be manufactured in the country, but as Iranian experts gain more experience in this regard, the figure will reach 84 percent for the fifth rig,” he added.


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku