Iran’s state drilling company carried out 1,900 drilling operations during the first 110 days of the current Persian calendar year, which began on March 21, its CEO told IRNA on July 16.

Morteza Fouladi, CEO of the National Iranian Drilling Co. (NIDC), said the undertakings included 402 specialised drilling service operations during the period, such as 130 well logging jobs, 84 well survey operations and 158 drilling fluid logging services.

The company also drilled 6,440 metres of directional and horizontal wells and recovered 222 metres of core samples from 30 boreholes as part of its specialised operations, he said.

Fouladi said the NIDC also delivered 1,498 technical service operations in line with its commitments to client companies and drilling projects.

Those included 34 large-scale acidising operations, 517 cementing jobs, 543 injectivity tests, 109 drill stem tests, 67 coiled tubing operations, 141 casing running operations, 38 liner hanger installations, 32 well productivity tests, eight underbalanced drilling (UBD) operations and nine complete air drilling projects covering 3,036 metres.

He said expanding engineering services and modernising equipment had further strengthened NIDC’s role in supporting Iran’s oil industry and improving drilling efficiency.

The company is simultaneously implementing a comprehensive programme to rebuild and modernise its drilling fleet while upgrading equipment used by its integrated technical and engineering service divisions.

“The initiative is aimed at improving operational efficiency, increasing revenue and providing better services to oil and gas operators,” Fouladi said.

The NIDC, a subsidiary of the state-run National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC), is headquartered in Ahvaz, the capital of the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan, and provides more than 90% of Iran’s drilling services.

The company operates a fleet of 74 light, heavy and ultra-heavy onshore and offshore drilling rigs and undertakes projects for Iran’s largest oil and gas producers.