Iran starts oil drilling near border with Azerbaijan 

After 13 years of exploration works in Moghan, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is dispatching one of its main drilling rigs to the northern region located near the border with Azerbaijan, Report informs, citing foreign media.

It is estimated that the oilfield will contain over four billion barrels of mostly light crude.

Iran’s state oil company continues to execute different projects despite the declining sales and revenue caused by US sanctions imposed in 2018.

The Iranian Oil Ministry’s news service, Shana, said in a Sunday report that Fath 54, an onshore drilling rig now stationed in the south-western oil hub of Ahvaz, will be sent 1,310 kilometers (814 miles) away to the northern Moghan Plain where it will start drilling for oil within the next two months.

According to a local NIOC contractor in Ardabil, Ali Rafiei: “The operation should take around 25 days to allow the drilling to start in late June. It is expected that 120 heavy vehicles will be involved in the transport of the Fath drilling rig from Ahvaz to Moghan.”