OREANDA-NEWS. Iran will see the number of its drilling rigs rise as the National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) plans to provide the means for facilitating the domestic manufacturing of drilling rigs, said an NIDC official.

Daryoush Raeisi said the company owns 70 oil and gas drilling rigs and has rented three others which are operating in various parts of the country.

He said 6 drilling platforms are operating in offshore regions and spudding wells in onshore reservoirs including the ones Iran shares with its neighbors.

When completed within the next five years, the number of the rigs NIDC operates will rise to 95, said Raeisi.

He further said Iranian manufacturers have acquired most of the technical savvy of building key parts of drilling rigs including top drives, SCR's, liquid pumps, compressors and liquid storage.