According to IOOC, a contract-signing ceremony for the first-time production and localization of the 6- to 9-MW turbogenerators for the Taurus 70 turbine was held Wednesday (Feb. 18) between the company and knowledge-based firm Turbine Machine Middle East.

Under the 30-month contract, three units will be designed and manufactured for installation on Iran Offshore Oil Co.’s platforms and operational areas.

“We fully support domestic manufacturing”

Ahmadreza Rasti, CEO of IOOC, stressed the need to expand domestic manufacturing and support knowledge-based companies.

“Our entire effort is to help strengthen knowledge-based companies and move toward domestic production,” Rasti said.

He added that offshore oil and gas production and the operation of more than 170 wellhead platforms in the Persian Gulf require specialized equipment such as lightweight, compact and high-power turbogenerators and turbocompressors.

Rasti said the most common turbines used by the company fall within the 3- to 4-MW and 7- to 8-MW ranges, though 17-MW units such as the SGT-500 are also in operation at facilities including the Soroush platform.

He noted that widely used turbine models, including the Solar Mars 90 and Centaur 100, were previously converted into the domestically developed “Tida” turbine by Turbine Machine Middle East.

Rasti described the 6- to 9-MW-class turbines as strategically important for Iran’s oil industry.

“With confidence in Iranian companies, we will meet this need domestically,” he said. “Relying on national expertise, we will complete the supply chain for this critical equipment without dependence on foreign suppliers, despite long-standing sanctions.”

He also cited the domestic workforce’s track record in constructing offshore jackets and platforms and called companies active in rotating machinery “a source of national pride.”

Project technology fully indigenous

Hassan Helali, CEO of Turbine Machine Middle East, said the project’s technology is entirely domestic.

“There has been no technology transfer from foreign companies in this contract, which makes the project unique,” Helali said.

He said manufacturing the next-generation turbines represents more than a simple product sale, calling it “a major step in technology development, supply chain management and national self-sufficiency.”

Helali added that the project’s technical know-how was developed entirely within the country and would remain a respected engineering achievement even if sanctions were lifted or foreign competitors entered the market.

Localization process began in 1402

The localization of the Taurus 70 turbine’s 6- to 9-MW turbogenerators began in 1402 based on IOOC’s identified needs, the report said.

Once completed, the initiative is expected to eliminate the offshore oil sector’s reliance on imports of the strategic equipment.