Referring to the manufacturing of strategic equipment by Iranian companies that have limited manufacturers in the Middle East and the world, Mohsen Khojastehmehr said on Tuesday that Iranian companies should get the necessary preparation for exporting their products.

During the unveiling ceremony of a new wellhead equipment with a working pressure of 15,000 psi (pounds per square inch), which was held on Tuesday morning, Mr. Khojastehmehr congratulated the beginning of the government week, saying that the 13th administration from the first days of office had a plan: “It is our pride and honor that the 13th administration had a plan from the first days of its activity, and we all witness planning and decision-making, and things are progressing well and with speed, which are good signs for the Islamic Republic of Iran; When we talk about Jihadi activities, it means the same thing, it means to do things well and quickly.”

Pointing to the importance of the unveiled equipment, he said: “First of all, we should know that fortunately Wellhead Equipment Technology Co. (WETCO) did not take any risks in construction of this equipment and did the work with the most accurate calculations. When we talk about risk, in fact, the work is associated with high uncertainty, but the risk is manageable, and when the work is done with high certainty and excellent engineering, the risk is actually managed.”

The NIOC CEO estimated the hydrocarbon resources in the country as equal to 1,200 billion barrels of oil, and said: “These resources include crude oil, gas and condensates, and according to the reserve statistics book, 159 billion barrels of oil can be extracted from this amount, which can be recovered with the normal recovery rate and the power we have and about 34 trillion cubic meters of gas can be extracted.”

Khojastehmehr called it vital to recover more of the in-place reserves and enhance the recovery rate, and said: "We are far from reaching that 1,200 billion barrels of in-place oil equivalent, and this means that we must plan for the next hundred years and produce advanced equipment.”

He added: “The vision that exists in Wetco is a broad and precise one.”

Era of Easy Oil Production, Over

The NIOC CEO, stating that out of 1,200 billion barrels of in-place oil equivalent, a significant part is located in Fahliyan and Khami formations, said: “Compared to Asmari Formation, development and production from these reservoirs is more complicated and difficult, and when we say that the era of easy oil production is over, this is what it means; that is, we need appropriate equipment for production.”

Khojastehmehr considered production from the Fahliyan and Khami formations to require serious planning, and said: “Today, in order to achieve our production vision, we must step into the development of these reservoirs; reservoirs that have three characteristics: first, they are very deep, and the deepest of them is about 15,000 feet or 5,200 meters; second, they have high pressure and third, their temperature is high.”

He added: “When a reservoir has a high temperature, it means that its development and production requires special metallic and non-metallic materials, so we must produce special equipment to overcome the complexities and difficulties, and in order to achieve this goal, the best solution is to use knowledge-based technology and technological items.”

The NIOC CEO underlined Ahvaz Khami, Maroon Khami, Gachsaran Khami, Binak Khami and Aghajari Khami fields as part of 6 to 7 important fields in the company’s development scheme, and said: “These old fields contain a significant part of the country's hydrocarbon reserves and at NIOC, we have planned carefully to realize the $5.5 billion investment that was proposed by the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) and soon the planning will be done and the works will begin.”

Khojastehmehr added: “If this investment is realized, it means that, God willing, we need plenty of advanced equipment, which includes not only wellhead equipment - such as the Christmas tree that was unveiled today - but also we are in dire need of downhole equipment.”

He mentioned casing, liner, tubing and casing accessories as part of the required equipment by NIOC, and said: “Domestic equipment manufacturing companies must be prepared to manufacture a large amount of this equipment.”