TEHRAN, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- A national energy company in Iran said Monday it signed a deal with Iraqis to train them in field operations for oil and natural gas fields.
Hamid Reza Golpayegani, managing director of the National Iranian Drilling Co., told the Iranian Oil Ministry's news agency Shana a training memorandum of understanding was signed with the Iraq Drilling Co.
Golpayegani said Monday NIDC workers would train Iraqi apprentices in drilling operations, power engineering and other field development activities.
The drilling industry "is one of the main pillars of oil and gas production," he said.
"Iraq Drilling Co. is a newly established company and tries to get experience through interaction and cooperation with other drilling companies," its director, Mohammad Ahmad al-Rabie, told Shana.
Several oil and natural gas fields straddle the border shared by Iran and Iraq.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani vowed to revitalize an energy sector handicapped by economic sanctions. Western sanctions on Iran's energy sector are designed to deprive the government of revenue it could use to finance a controversial nuclear program.
