Iran has discovered a new gas field with around 700 billion cubic meters of in-place reserve in the Persian Gulf , the Iranian oil minister said here on Monday.
The Mehr News Agency quoted Masoud Mirkazemi as saying that the gas field is situated 30 kilometers southeast of the Kish Island (in the Persian Gulf).
"The field measures some 588 square kilometers area. If developed, it will be able to produce 70 million cubic meters of natural gas per day," he added, Press TV reported.
He also confirmed the discovery of Toos gas field in the northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi with in-place reserve of 62.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
The field can produce 4 million cubic meters of natural gas on a daily basis, Mirkazemi added.
The Mehr News agency reported in June that two major gas fields named Toos and Attar were discovered in Khorasan Razavi province.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Iran Central Oilfields Company has stated that a new oilfield has been found in western Kermanshah Province.
"The newly discovered oilfield can produce 10,000 barrels of oil per day," Mehdi Fakour said.
Oil reserves in Iran rank third-largest in the world at approximately 136 billion barrels as of 2007, although it ranks second if Canadian reserves of unconventional oil are excluded. This is roughly 10 percent of the world's total proven petroleum reserves. Iran is the world's fourth-largest oil producer and is OPEC's second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia.
Iran has the world's second-largest reserves of natural gas (15% of the world's total). It contains an estimated 974 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in proven natural gas reserves. About 62% of these reserves are located in non-associated fields.