2.5b barrels added to Iran’s crude oil, natural gas reserves in 2023: NIOC
The chief executive of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said about 2.5 billion barrels were added to the country’s natural gas and crude oil reserves in 2023.
Mohsen Khojastehmehr stated that new oil fields were also discovered by the company in 2023, Tasnim News Agency reported.
The deputy oil minister said his company took effective steps in the current Iranian calendar year (began on March 21, 2023) in the oil and gas sectors.
Referring to the Arash Gas Field, shared between Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, he said that Iran’s sovereignty over a part of the field is undeniable.
Earlier, a foreign ministry official stated that Tehran believes a fair agreement on the Arash Gas Field can only be achieved by fostering a constructive atmosphere and respecting the common rights and interests of all countries.
Khojastehmehr also said that the NIOC has outlined three methods to retain the production power from the South Pars Gas Field and increase the extraction of gas from the field, adding that the company is going to embark on drilling 35 new oil wells besides the previous oil wells, valued at $1.1 billion.
He pointed to the continuation of Iran’s gas exports to neighboring Iraq and said a joint working group has been set up to boost the oil cooperation between the two countries as well.
Oil explorations up
Meanwhile, the explorations manager of the NIOC said the country’s oil explorations registered a 300% growth in two years of the current Iranian government, in office since August 2021.
Mehdi Fakour said the oil explorations have shown a considerable hike in various sectors as compared to the past five years, Mehr News Agency reported.
He added that the oil explorations made in the first two years of the current administration have registered a 300% hike.
The feasibility studies of some explorations have started in the country, he said, adding that negotiations have been made with a number of industrial production companies.
Currently, the oil exploration activities in the country are at a satisfactory level, Fakour added.
Earlier, Khojastehmehr said that the company has a 100-year vision for exploration, emphasizing that the company is determined to carry out maximum exploration operations to discover and maintain the country’s reserves.