Iran to initiate longest horizontal offshore drilling in Mideast

Tehran, May 8, IRNA – The Islamic Republic of Iran plans to start the longest horizontal offshore drilling in the Middle East from Laft Port to Qeshm Island within a month, an Iranian official said. Managing Director of Iran Gas Engineering and Development Company (IGEDC) Reza Noshadi made the remark in a news conference on Sunday, saying that the gas pipe-laying has reached Zabol county in Sistan and Baluchestan province, southeastern Iran. Pointing to the fact that the IGEDC does not have any incomplete projects, Noshadi noted that the situation is unique among government-affiliated companies. Considering that Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei designated the current Iranian calendar year as the year of "Production: Knowledge-Based and Job-Creating," the managing director said that the IGEDC has implemented two significant measures to pursue knowledge-based development. Germany’s Siemens Company canceled a one-billion-dollar contract to sell 100 turbines under the pretext of US-imposed sanctions, despite that, Iranian experts have succeeded in manufacturing 100 turbines, he added. The Iran-made turbines are more efficient than the Siemens’ ones, the official said, adding that engineers have designed coverage to increase the lifetime of the pipelines. According to the CEO, the company has created a software set for project management in order to enhance transparency. There are 211 active projects that the IGEDC is conducting, he told IRNA, noting that the total value of the projects stands at 5.4 billion dollars. Moreover, the company has two contracts worth two billion dollars to manufacture turbo-compressors, he said. The IGEDC has named the year as the year of gas development in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, he said, adding that gas injection from Zahedan to Dashtak and from Dashtak to Zabol has kicked off, adding that projects of gas transfer to cities and industrial complexes are being pursued. As to the project of gas transfer to Qeshm Island, he noted that the construction plan is the longest horizontal drilling in the Middle East. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish