Iran to implement 11 plans to raise oil output by 175,000 bpd

TEHRAN,Aug.27(MNA) – Iran announced that it will implement 11 plans by the Iranian calendar month of Mordad 1392 (July 22-August 22, 2013) with the goal of boosting oil production by 175,000 barrels per day (bpd). The plans are related to the first phase of the development plans of the Yadavaran, Sarvestan, Saadatabad, Hengam, Forouzan, Reshadat, Aban, and Paydar oilfields, according to a report published by the National Iranian Oil Company on Sunday. Once all the phases of the development plans are implemented, the output will be increased by 500,000 bpd. Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has said that the country’s oil output is projected to increase by 1.5 million bpd by 2016. All development plans related to joint oil and gas fields will by finalized by the end of the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (September 21), he added. In July, Qasemi announced that new oil reserves of up to 6 billion barrels have been discovered in southwestern Iran. The reserves are located around the Yadavaran oilfield in Khuzestan Province. With the new oil discovery, Iran’s oil reserves stand at about 160 billion barrels.