Iran Discovers 30bln Barrels of Oil in Southern Fields

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8903241605

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran announced on Monday that exploration operations in Arvandkenar oil field in the southwestern city of Abadan in the oil rich Khuzestan province have resulted in the discovery of 30bln barrels of oil in the region.


"The Arvandkenar oil field has 30bln barrels of in-place oil reserves," member of the parliament's Energy Commission Javad Sa'dounzadeh told FNA, adding that digging operations have ended for the first well while same operations are continued in two more wells.

By discovering such a large amount of oil reserves in Arvandkenar, the region will soon be turned into one of the most important exploitation centers.

Iran, OPEC's second largest oil producer, plans to open some of its oil and gas fields to foreign investment and boost output by 2015 to 5.3 million barrels per day (bpd), from the current 4.2 million bpd.

Iran possesses roughly 10 percent of the world's total proven petroleum reserves.

Iran has the world's second-largest reserves of natural gas (15% of the world's total) as well.

Meantime, Iranian Oil Minister Seyed Masoud Mir-Kazzemi announced in February that two giant oil and gas fields have been found in southern and western Iran.

Mir-Kazzemi said that the oil field is located in Soummar, east of Naftshahr, in the western Kermanshah province.

He said that the filed has 475 million barrels of oil reserves, of which 70 million barrels are recoverable.

the minister also said that a giant gas field had been found in Halegan about 73 km north of the Persian Gulf port of Assalouyeh.

The minister added that the gas fields' output could reach some 50 million cubic meters of gas per day and for 20 years.