Azerbaijan, Baku, May.19/ Trend F.Karimov/
Iran has extended its contract with the UAE for another three years to drill oil wells in Turkmen waters, the Mehr News Agency quoted North Drilling Company's managing director Hedayatollah Khademi as saying.
Iran has been operating the Iran-Khazar drilling rig in Turkmen waters since 2005 and will continue the operations till 2016, he added.
Iran will get $159,000 per day from the UAE employer for renting the drilling rig.
In July 2012, Khademi said that Iran earned about $300 million from drilling 30 oil wells in Turkmenistan's sector of the Caspian Sea during the last 5 years.
The country has prepared comprehensive plans to carry out drilling operations and export technical and engineering services to different countries, he added.
Meanwhile, Iran plans to increase the number of its drilling rigs operating onshore and offshore oilfields by 36 units to 134 units by March 2014, the National Iranian Oil Company's (NIOC) managing director said.
Ahmad Qalebani told the Shana news agency that the country's daily oil and gas outputs should amount to 5 million barrels and 1.47 billion cubic meters, respectively, by 2015.
About 2,500 oil and gas wells should be drilled and commissioned during Iran's 5th five-year economic development plan (2010-2015).