Iran says finds light oil in offshore gas field

Iran has discovered a deposit of light oil offshore of an estimated in-place reserve of 756 million barrels valued at $13.6 billion, the state TV website reported on Saturday quoting a senior oil official.

The oil reserve was found at Khayyam field off the Gulf shore in Hormuzgan province. It was originally discovered in 2010 but was classified only with natural gas reserves.

"The volume of in-place oil at this field is 758 million barrels of which around 22 percent, or some 170 million barrels, are recoverable," said Ahmad Qalebani, managing director of the state National Iranian Oil Co.

He said the existence of oil at this layer is "an exception" and the field has the potential for the production of 35,000 barrels a day of oil with a gravity measure of 35 degree API.

"Assuming a price of $80 for every barrel of crude produced, the economic value of the recoverable oil at this field will amount to around $13.6 billion," Qalebani said.

Earlier this week Iran announced the discovery of new onshore oil and gas fields in its south and west of the country estimated at half a billion barrels and five trillion cubic feet respectively.

Iran, the world fifth largest oil producer, has given the estimates of its oil and gas reserves as 150 billion barrels and 33 trillion cubic meters successively.

The Islamic state is hoping to discover 2.5 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 23 trillion cubic feet of gas in the course of its fifth five-year development program (2010-2015).

Although Iran is the world's second-largest natural gas reserves after Russia, U.S. and U.N. sanctions, which deter investment by Western firms with expertise and technology, have slowed its development as a major exporter.

Source: Reuters