Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov.5/ Trend F.Karimov/
Iran will complete drilling its second exploration well in the Caspian Sea by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2014), ISNA quoted Khazar Oil Company's managing director Ali Osouli as saying.
Of course, large investments should be made in the deep waters of the southern section of the Caspian Sea to gain favourable results, he added.
The Iranian Oil Ministry announced in December 2011 that Iran might discover huge gas reserves (1.4 trillion cubic meters) 700 metres below the Caspian Sea. Then on May 10 it was announced that this field has a huge, eight billion barrel oil reserve as well. Iran says the oil crude deposit at the Sardar-e Jangal field is worth $50 billion reserves.
In May, Iran created a consortium to develop its oil and gas fields in the Caspian Sea, the Mehr News Agency quoted head of the maritime studies centre at Sharif University of Technology Mohammad Sahid Seigi as saying.
A roadmap has been prepared to acquire technology for drilling in the Caspian Sea's deep waters, he added.
The Oil Ministry, Khazar Oil Company and a number of domestic universities have created the consortium, he said.
In April, Osouli said Iran will build the second submersible platform for the purpose of drilling operations in the Caspian Sea.
The platform will have the same specifications as the first one called Amir Kabir, which is currently operating in the Caspian Sea.
In addition to building the second platform, deals have been signed with Iranian manufacturers to design and build a floating platform, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, he added.
Iran plans to increase the number of drilling rigs operating in onshore and offshore oilfields by 36 to reach 134 by March 2014, the former National Iranian Oil Company's (NIOC) managing director said.
Ahmad Qalebani told the Shana news agency that the country's daily oil and gas outputs should amount to five million barrels and 1.47 billion cubic meters by 2015.
Some 2500 oil and gas wells should be drilled and commissioned during Iran's fifth five-year economic development plan (2010-2015).