Tehran, July 21 (Shana) � Operator of Azar oilfield drilling project in National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) Mehran Mafrashi says drilling project in the joint field has had 70 percent progress.

Public Relations Department at the NIDC quoted Mafrashi as saying that the drilling of seven wells in the field started mid October 2012 .

He said the field is one of the most complicated hydrocarbon fields in the region.

He added that thus far, drilling of three wells is complete and one more follows its final stages.

The official said for the time being, three drilling rigs, including two heavy onshore rigs � Fath 35 & Fath 37 � and Pirouzi ultra-heavy drilling rig are installed in the location.

He noted that the �project is expected to be complete by September 2017.

Azar oil fields, in Anaran block, are one of the toughest Iranian oil and gas field from the viewpoint of drilling and one of the most challenging for the oil industry due to the land stony conditions.

The volume of possible oil reserves to be excavated from Azar fields is estimate to be around 400 million barrels.

Iran�s Mehran City on eastern side of Iran-Iraq border with its 30,000 population is on the southwest side of Ilam province and is among the oil rich parts of the province.

By SHANA