Iran may find new gas deposits in northeast

TEHRAN,May 23(MNA) - Iran will complete drilling an exploratory well in the northeastern areas, hoping to find new natural gas deposits, said the National Iranian Oil Company’s director for exploration. “The exploratory well has reached 2,850 meters deep into ground up to now,” Mahmoud Mohaddes said. Initial studies indicate there are deposits of natural gas in the region, Mohaddes added. Iran ranks the fourth worldwide with 155 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves, next to Venezuela, Saud Arabia and Canada. With 34 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, Iran has the world's second-largest natural gas reserves after Russia. Iran has attached priority to boosting gas production capacity from its joint oilfields with Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has ordered all contractors of the South Pars gas field development projects to work round the clock in three shifts to complete development of all phases, especially the phases 12, 15, 16, 17 and 18. The South Pars gas field is shared by Iran and Qatar. The Iranian share, which is divided into 29 phases, has about 14 trillion cubic meters of gas, or about eight percent of the total world reserves, and more than 18 billion barrels of liquefied natural gas resources.