TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on Sunday the discovery of a major oil field with an estimated in-place reserve of 53 billion barrels in southwestern Khuzestan province, Shana reported.

The oil field has a depth of 80 meters and extends over 2400 square kilometers between Bostan District in Dasht-e Azadegan County and Omidiyeh County in the oil-rich province.

President Rouhani’s announcement would mean Iran’s proven crude oil reserves would be boosted by a third, since the country’s proven crude oil reserves are estimated to be about 150 billion barrels.

Mentioning the need for new technologies for developing the country’s oil fields and for increasing their recovery factor, Rouhani said “Only one percent increase in the recovery from this oil field adds 32 billion dollars to the country's oil revenues and we need world-class technologies to develop the oil industry.”

Back in October, the director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)'s discovery department announced the discovery of new oil and gas fields in the country.

Sharing a video on his social media, Saleh Hendi said the details of the discoveries would soon be revealed by the Oil Ministry.

This year, NIOC’s Exploration Directorate has also signed numerous agreements with Iranian universities and knowledge-based companies for research in various fields of geophysics, geochemistry, unconventional hydrocarbon resources and drilling.

EF/MA