The managing director of Tasdid Offshore Development Company said signature of a deal with Russia's Krasnye Barrikady will break the spell of offshore drilling rigs' building for Iranian manufacturers.
Speaking on Saturday evening, Ehsan Mousavi said his company spent a long time for talks with domestic manufacturers of drilling rigs to no avail, the last one being with Razavi Oil and Gas Company.
Hard to be deterred, the company further sought support from the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade for its introduction to to leading rig builders.
Later on, the company inked a deal with Russia's Krasnye Barrikady for construction of 5 offshore rigs for Iran for the first time in the country, added Mousavi.
He said each of the rigs will take about two years for construction with 58% of the first rig belonging to Iran. The share will rise in the later rigs.
Valued at $1 billion, the terms of the contract dictate that the project will also make use of Russian funds up to 85% of the deal with the return on investments pegged on renting out the rigs to Iranian companies.
Mousavi said the latest technologies for construction of the rigs will be adopted with design licenses obtained from a renowned American-Singaporean company.
The rigs will be assembled at Khorramshahr Yard after their parts are transferred to Iran from Russia.