SEISMOLOGIC data from drilling the first exploration well in the east of the gas-rich Assalouyeh region in the southern province of Hormuzgan have indicated that the volume of crude reserves of the field exceeds initial estimates, says National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) director for exploration Mahmoud Mohaddes.

The official notes that the exact volume of the new deposit will be announced in the near future, adding that NIOC experts have estimated that the discovery will increase Iran’s crude and gas condensate reserves by one billion barrels.

He says that the discovery of the Khayyam field in the Gulf coastal areas east of Assalouyeh revealed that in addition to about 260 billion cubic metres of gas reserves, there are also some crude reserves in the region.

According to NIOC, the value of the natural gas and gas condensates in the Khayyam field is over $50 billion.

Iran ranked fourth in the world in terms of crude production after Russia, Saudi Arabia and the US. The Islamic Republic is also fourth in gas production after the US, Russia, and Canada.

The Islamic Republic has the world’s second-largest crude reserves after Saudi Arabia and the second-largest gas reserves after Russia.

BP says in its latest Statistical Review of World Energy that Iran increased its crude oil and natural gas production last year. The British company also stated that Iran has oil reserves that would last for the next 88 years and is the second longest-lasting oil source in the world.

Based on the Reserves-to-production ratio index, UAE will be the prominent source of oil for the world with oil reserves that would last for the next 94 years.

Meanwhile, the chief executive officer of the National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Jalil Salari says Iran has managed to raise its strategic fuel reserves from 11.5 billion litres last year to 13 billion litres in the current year.

Salari says Tehran could boost its fuel reserves by developing infrastructure for fuel storing and managing consumption.