Azerbaijan, Baku, Apr.21/ Trend F.Karimov/
Iran will drill 12 wells in oil and gas fields, which are located in the Persian Gulf, to start developing the fields, the Fars News Agency quoted Iranian Offshore Oil Company Managing Director Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh as saying.
Eight of 12 wells will be drilled in joint fields, he noted.
In November 2012, Zirakchianzadeh stated that Iran's National Development Fund (NDF) has allocated $1.5 billion for developing the country's oilfields in the Persian Gulf.
The money will be spent on developing a number of fields, such as the Esfandyar field, he added.
According to an Iranian law, 37.5 percent of oil revenue is deposited into the NDF and is then channeled into the development of oil and gas fields and 62.5 percent of oil revenue is allocated for national budget expenditures.
Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said that the country's oil output is projected to increase by 1.5 million barrels per day by 2016.
Iran has the world's fourth-largest reserves of recoverable oil, after Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Canada.
With 34 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, Iran has the world's second-largest natural gas reserves after Russia.