Iran: Rouhani says 53 billion barrels worth of oil found in new field

The new field in Khuzestan could give Iran the world's third-largest oil reserves

Iran-Hassan-Rouhani-Yazd-AFP Iran president Hassan Rouhani delivering a speech to a crowd in the central city of Yazd | AFP/IRNA

Iran on Sunday announced the discovery of a new oilfield in the country’s Khuzestan province, which reportedly contains 53 billion barrels worth of oil.

Making the announcement in the city of Yazd, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said that the field stretches from Bostan to Omidieh. “We have found an oil field with 53 billion barrels of oil in place, 53 billion barrels. This is in a big oil field that stretches 2,400 sq km from Bostan to Omidiyeh. The oil layer has a depth of 80m (262ft),”he said.

Rouhani added, referring to ongoing US sanctions on the export of Iranian oil, “I am telling the White House that in the days when you sanctioned the sale of Iranian oil, the country's workers and engineers were able to discover 53 billion barrels of oil.”

The discovery was made by the National Iranian Oil Company Exploration Directorate (NIOCEXP), who had been searching the region for three years. If proven, the new field would be the second-largest in the country after the one at Ahvaz, according to AP.

Iran already has around 150 billion barrels worth of oil reserves.

The Khuzestan Province is home to most of Iran’s oil and contains 80 per cent of Iran’s onshore oil reserves. Iran was, prior to the discovery, the world’s tenth-largest producer of oil, with the fourth-largest reserves of the crude oil. The new discovery could give Iran the number three position in terms of oil reserves, taking it from Canada, whose proven reserves were over 166 billion barrels in 2018.

However, sanctions on Iranian oil exports, re-imposed by US President Donald Trump after the nuclear deal formally fell apart, have crippled the Iranian economy and restricted oil exports. Oil exports in June dipped under 300,000 barrels a day(bpd)—a far cry from that of regional rival Saudi Arabia, which exports nearly seven million barrels each day.

Prior to Trump’s sanctions, Iran’s oil exports were at 2.8 million bpd in May 2018.

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