Tehran, Iran, July 1
By Temkin Jafarov, Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
The Iranian North Drilling Company, which has been working in cooperation with Turkmenistan for years, is willing to extend its cooperation to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
The company has had its Iran-Khazar drilling Jackup leased by Turkmenistan and also signed a new contract in 2013.
North Drilling Co. CEO Hedayatollah Khademi in an interview with Trend July 1 said the company attended the 22nd International Caspian Oil and Gas Exhibition, which was held one month earlier in Baku for the first time this year.
Khademi said his company currently holds talks with Oman and Kazakhstan on energy projects.
"Today we signed a contract with the German company which is the top producer of rigs and equipment such as pipes, masts, turbines, compressors, etc., and we can support the projects with the equipment," he stated.
Commenting on the company's cooperation with Turkmenistan, Khademi said the two have a long record of cooperation and that the Turkmen side is happy with the performance.
"Iran-Khazar has drilled up to 10 wells a year on occasion. The Caspian is an enclosed sea and it is difficult to import drilling equipment. They have to be built in one of the littoral countries. If we had more drilling rigs we would have taken more work in Turkmenistan," he said.
The official noted that the business atmosphere is more open in Azerbaijan and working in drilling projects there is easier than other countries.
"Many foreign companies have worked in Azerbaijan, companies like BP, Shell, etc. therefore the culture of industrial work is there in Azerbaijan," he noted.
Khademi says his company has held talks with Kazakhstan as well.
"Initial MoUs have been signed with Kazakhstan and we attended in their tenders. Luckily Kazakhstan has welcomed us. In Kazakhstan we would like to launch our drilling rigs onshore and will do the drilling," Khademi stated.
He said the first region in Kazakhstan that the company wants to do drilling operation is the Mangystau region and is negotiating for other regions in Kazakhstan as well.
Khademi said sanctions against Iran have hurt the country's drilling Industry, but they have not been so severe as to stall the industry.
"Maybe they have slowed us down, but they have helped us elsewhere. We have gained knowledge, many things that we may have not had the chance to gain in regular situations but we found because we were forced to. Things were not harsh in procuring parts. The prices for parts and our costs went up, but anyway we moved the job on and if the sanctions are removed we can go drill anywhere in the world," he concluded.
Edited by CN
