TEHRAN, June 13 (Shana) � Managing director of the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) said the company has positioned a rig over Esfand oilfield near Sirri Island in Persian Gulf waters, to raise oil and gas recovery from the field by drilling or repairing a number of shunt-in wells.

Saeid Hafezi said the rig, dubbed as DD4 Rig, was successfully positioned on its designated spot on June 08, and is expected to repair 7 wells at Esfand field to add to the region's oil output.

IOOC has undertaken several major oil and gas development projects on the island including a $0.5 billion (USD) NGL Gas factory and a development contract to develop and increase production of the Iranian Nosrat oil field which is projected to increase crude oil production capacity from 5,000 barrels (790 cubic metres) to 16,000 barrels per day (2,500 cubic metres per day).

"Once the operations are finished, production from Esfand oilfield will stand at 10,000 bpd of crude oil and 10mcm/d of natural gas," he added.

Sirri island is situated 76 km from Bandar-e Lengeh and 50 kilometres (31 miles) west of Abu Musa island. The island is one of six in the Abu Mus� Island Group (and is part of the southern province of Hormuzgan). The island is almost 5.6 kilometres (3.5 miles) long with a width of about 3 kilometres (1.9 miles).

By SHANA