Iran starts the biggest 3D-reservoir-modeling project in the world to determine the volume of oil and gas reserves in depths beneath 6,000 meters below the earth's surface, Press TV reports.
The roughly-USD-29-million (21-million-euro) project, covering an area of 184 thousand square kilometers containing 500 wells, is scheduled to take three years to complete.
The system dubbed 'The pearl of the Persian Gulf' is also capable of analyzing the source, the movement, and probable connections between reservoirs, lowering exploration costs and enabling better energy planning for Iran.
"Having enough information about these common reservoirs can help us have a better energy planning in the future," said Iran's Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (IRIPI)'s Deputy for Upstream Industries, Saleh Hendl.
"So far none of the countries in the region have been able to conduct a 3-D modeling scale in such a wide scale," he said.
The IRIPI says the measure constitutes a step towards indigenizing Iran's oil industry in the face of the US-led sanctions the industry faces.
IRIPI's Director, Vahid Haddadi Asl, said, "More important than the plan [itself] are the steps we can take for [implementation of] our vital energy projects, despite Western[-imposed] sanctions."
He added, "Today we announce proudly that we are less dependent on purchasing foreign technology."
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