Iran's Newly-Discovered Oilfield in Khuzestan Holds 53b Barrels of Crude

EghtesadOnline: A new oil field was identified in southwest Iran that holds 53 billion barrels of crude oil, President Hassan Rouhani said in Yazd on Sunday.

News ID: ۷۴۸۹۱۳

11 November 2019

“Exploration department of the National Iranian Oil Company discovered the field in oil-rich Khuzestan Province following explorations carried out since 2016,” ISNA quoted him as saying.

The oil field is 2,400 square kilometers wide and has a depth of 80 meters.

This will boost the country's proven oil reserves of 150 billion barrels by one-third. Oil reserves refer to crude that is economically feasible to extract, according to Financial Tribune.

Iran currently has the world's fourth-largest proven deposits of crude oil and the world's second-largest deposits of natural gas.

Last month, a gas field was found in southern Fars Province. Eram Gas Field is estimated to hold 538 billion cubic meters of natural gas in place, of which over 368 bcm are recoverable.

It is located 200 kilometers south of the provincial capital Shiraz and 60km north of Asalouyeh. The find was made in a reservoir 3,900 meters below the earth’s surface.

Last December, Saleh Hendi, exploration manager of NIOC, said 35-40 new hydrocarbon reservoirs had been discovered across the country.

Iran is scouring 60% of its total territory for oil and gas reserves, including in places which, until recently, were deemed the least likely to have hydrocarbon-bearing formations.

Power, Water Projects

While in Yazd, Rouhani inaugurated nine power and water projects in different cities of the central province.

The projects included water supply to villages, wastewater treatment units and power substations and cost $10 million.

Rouhani broke the ground for a water supply project in Taft County estimated to cost $31 million.

When completed, it will cover 266 villages in Taft and provide 121,000 rural folks with potable water.

Of the total 1,184 villages in the desert province, 330 regions or 82,000 rural people get drinking water via tankers. Piped water is limited and rationed in 600 villages that are among the hottest regions in Iran with summer temperatures usually above 40 degrees centigrade.

Yazd rural water supply network has expanded and over 72,000 residents in 135 small towns got access to piped water in the past nine months.

Yazd Province has a population of 1.13 million, 15% of which live in rural areas. An ancient land that attracts millions of local and foreign tourists every year, it is one of the known centers for textiles and factories making ceramics and construction material.

Close to 75% of rural inhabitants in Iran have access to piped water -- the figure is expected to reach 81% by 2021.