Tehran, Iran, November 15
By Mehdi Sepahvand -- Trend:
Latest assessments show that Iran's liquid hydrocarbon reserves are one billion barrels more than what had previously been announced.
Announcing the news, Karim Zobeidi, official in charge of hydrocarbon reserves assessment at the National Iranian Oil Company, said the recent increase is a great number that shows good progress.
Commenting on the reasons behind the hike, he said not only new explorations, but the revision and updating of studies are responsible for the new number, Shana news agency reported Nov. 15.
He also referred to the Iranian government's post-sanctions economic programs and said luring foreign investment and indigenization of technology are on agenda for the oil industry.
It is hoped that as situations improve, next year some well-known foreign companies should be working in Iran, he stated.
Iran holds almost 10 percent of the world's crude oil reserves and 13 percent of OPEC reserves. About 70 percent of Iran's crude oil reserves are located onshore, with the remainder mostly located offshore in the Persian Gulf. Iran also holds proved reserves in the Caspian Sea, although exploration has been at a standstill.
Iran produced 3.4 million b/d of petroleum and other liquids in 2014, of which 2.8 million b/d was crude oil and the remainder was condensate and natural gas plant liquids. Iran's crude oil production fell dramatically from nearly 3.7 million b/d in 2011 to 2.7 million b/d in 2013 because of sanctions.
Iran's exports of crude oil and condensate dropped from 2.6 million b/d in 2011 to almost 1.3 million b/d in 2013 as a result of US and European Union sanctions that targeted Iran's oil exports. Iran's exports increased by nearly 150,000 b/d to 1.4 million b/d in 2014. The largest buyers of Iranian crude and condensate are China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Turkey.