SHANA – The National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) has launched the localized the elevating System of jack up rigs for Shahid Modaress Marine Drilling Rig in Khark coastal waters.

According to the company, the system was launched on Tuesday (May 22) after technical and engineering studies, for the first time in the country.

Speaking in a ceremony to launch the system, Seyed Abdullah Mousavi, NIDC CEO, said: "Launching the localized jacking system was aimed at ensuring self-sufficiency, and self-reliance in line with the resilient economy principles by relying on domestic capabilities, which shows that there is no limit to the development of the oil industry in Iran.”

He added: "Based on the calculations, the reconstruction of the Shahid Modarress drilling rig by foreign companies and contractors would cost €2 million while, by tapping domestic capabilities of NIDC, it was launched by IRR 15 billion.”

Every Euro is traded at roughly 160,000 Iranian Rials (IRR).

Mousavi further said that NIDC had so far drilled 656,600 meters of oil and gas wells in offshore fields which included 398 wells so far.