Iran has discovered a new oil layer with about 34 billion barrels of in situ reserves in the Ferdowsi gas field, located in the Persian Gulf, the managing director of the Pars Oil and Gas Company announced on Sunday.
Appraisal drilling operations are currently underway to estimate the deposit more accurately, the SHANA news agency quoted POGC Managing Director Ali Vakili as saying.
Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi said in October that a new oilfield had been discovered in southern Iran, increasing the country's proven oil reserves to 150.31 billion barrels.
He also announced the discovery of a new gas field -- named Sefid (white) -- in Iran's southern province of Hormozgan, saying that the field contains "70 billion cubic meters of gas, 72 percent of which can be exploited."
"Over the course of the past six months, the country's oil and gas reserves have been reassessed. According to the latest studies, the country's oil reserves have reached 150.31 billion barrels," the SHANA news agency quoted Mirkazemi as saying.
He said exploration efforts would continue for the discovery of new fields, adding that the volume of the country's reserves "will definitely increase" by the end of the Iranian calendar year in March 2011.
Iran is the world's third-largest oil producer. In 2009, Iran's crude production stood at 3.8 million bpd.
The Persian Gulf country also sits on the world's second-largest gas deposits.