The domestication of this rig has resulted in approximately $7 million in foreign currency savings.

On Thursday, Mohsen Paknejad, speaking on the sidelines of the unveiling of the third drilling rig built by Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research, noted that efforts to localize the production of drilling rigs had been underway for years, in line with earlier resolutions.

He stated, " Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research has been one of the pioneers in this field of domestic production."

Paknejad emphasized that this is the third rig for which Academic Center for Education, Culture and Research has achieved around 80% localization.

He added, "New technology-based firms (NTBFs) also have the capability to produce the necessary motors for the rig, such as the top drive, which has fortunately been localized."

The oil minister expressed hope that the country would achieve the capability to produce all components of drilling rigs domestically, aiming for 100% localization.

$7m saved through localization of drilling rig

Mehran Makvandi, CEO of the National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC), stated that the rig, which has a capacity of 2,000 horsepower and can drill to depths of up to 6,000 meters, is allocated to the oil-rich southern regions.

He highlighted that 100% of the workforce operating the rig are from Khuzestan Province. Makvandi added that the localization of the rig has saved approximately $7 million in foreign currency, and its performance is on par with foreign-made rigs.