Engineering, the hidden but vital pillar of Iran’s oil industry

According to Energy Press, Iran’s oil industry has been intertwined with the economy, politics, and national development for more than a century; but what is less visible is the fundamental role of engineering and engineers in shaping, surviving, and advancing this industry; from the first exploration efforts in the late 19th century to today’s most complex projects, it has been engineering knowledge that has extracted oil from the rock, transported it to the refinery, and transformed it into a strategic product.

From Surface Signs to Exploration Engineering

In the early years of oil exploration, geological information was limited and decisions were often made based on the observation of surface seepage, but it soon became clear that sustainable success was not possible without an engineering-based approach. The arrival of geological and drilling engineers made it possible to design systematic exploration campaigns; from selecting a well site to determining target depth and managing technical risks.

Engineers increased the probability of success by analyzing geological structures, identifying anticlines, and later by using geophysical methods. The use of gravity, magnetometry, and then seismography was a turning point in reducing the uncertainty of exploration. This transition from “empirical guesswork” to “engineering design” laid the foundation for the development of large fields.

Drilling engineering, a battle with the unknown

Drilling in Iran, especially in offshore and remote areas, has always been accompanied by technical challenges: unexpected pressures, unstable formations, high temperatures, and logistical constraints. Drilling engineers controlled these risks by designing drilling mud, selecting drill bits, lining programs, and managing outbursts.

In the early years, reaching depths that seem normal today was a great achievement. Every meter of progress was the result of careful calculations, engineering trial and error, and sometimes bold decisions in critical situations. The accumulated experience became the capital that was later used in the development of more complex fields.

Reservoir Engineering, the Art of Managing Subsurface Wealth

Oil discovery is not the end; it is the beginning of a more sensitive phase: the optimal exploitation of the reservoir. By modeling fluid behavior, estimating pressure, and designing production and injection patterns, reservoir engineers try to achieve the highest recovery rate with the least damage to the reservoir.

This expertise determines how much sustainable production the field will have in the long term. Decisions about production rates, gas or water injection timing, and the selection of enhanced recovery (EOR/IOR) methods are directly dependent on engineering analysis. In fact, the reservoir engineer is the guardian of the balance between “production today” and “maintaining tomorrow’s capacity.”

Refining and Processing, Converting Oil into More Value

Crude oil without refining has limited value. Chemical and process engineers design distillation, cracking, hydrotreating, and sulfur recovery units to convert petroleum into a variety of products, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and petrochemical feedstocks.

Designing and optimizing these units requires a deep understanding of thermodynamics, heat transfer, and process control. Every improvement in efficiency, reduction in energy consumption, or reduction in emissions is the result of engineering innovation. In addition, instrumentation and control engineers create the digital brains of refineries, where thousands of variables are monitored and adjusted in real time.