Posted by Esarhaddon from dialup-67.73.32.72.Dial1.LosAngeles1.Level3.net (67.73.32.72) on Monday, July 14, 2003 at 11:40PM :
Iran announces 38.5 billion barrels of 'heavy' oil find
Tehran, July 14, IRNA -- Iran has discovered three massive fields
which are estimated to collectively hold more than 38.5 billion
barrels of 'heavy' crude oil around the Persian Gulf city of Bushehr,
the daily Kayhan cited a senior oil official as saying Monday.
The Ferdows, Kuh-e Mond and Zagheh fields are located near the
Persian Gulf port city of Bushehr and are being studied for
development, the paper quoted managing director of the Engineering
and Oil Development Company, Abolhassan Khamoushi, as saying.
According to preliminary estimates, Ferdows holds 30.6 billion
barrels of crude oil, he said, adding Kuh-e Mond is estimated to
contain 6.6 billion barrels and Zagheh 1.3 billion barrels of oil.
"The exact volume of the reserves at the fields will be
determined once seismographic studies and characterization of the
fields are over," he said, Kayhan added.
"Producing oil from heavy crude fields, besides heavy investment,
requires special technology," Khamoushi said.
The new find will certainly add muscle to Iran's oil bonanza,
besides making the country a more lucrative oil investment target.
Iran has already a giant undeveloped oilfield in Azadegan, the
development of which has been dogged by prolonged negotiations with
Japanese consortia.
The field, said to hold 26 billion barrels of crude oil, has
recently been shot into spotlight amid news that Japan had come under
mounting US pressures to pull out of the project.
Press Monday cited Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh as saying
that Iran and Japan were close to clinch a deal on developing the
Azadegan oil field in the face of American pressures.
"Despite American pressures, the Azadegan oil deal with Japan is
nearing finalization," the Persian daily Khorassan cited him as
saying, thus dispelling speculation that Tokyo had bowed down to US
pressure and pulled out of the venture.
Earlier, news had emerged that Tehran had new oil firms in sight
as a deadline for the finalization of a deal with Japan had expired,
with Japan reportedly said to be dragging its feet on the
2.8-billion-dollar project.
Zanganeh said the Iranian Oil Ministry had held negotiations with
Chinese, Indian and Russian consortia, but "the chances of concluding
a deal with Japan are high", Khorassan said.
Tehran offered preferential rights to Japanese consortia during
President Mohammad Khatami's visit to Japan in 2000 to develop the
oil field, which is said to hold one of the world's biggest
undeveloped oil reserves.
Japan in return pledged to grant a three-billion-dollar credit
line to Iran over three years.
-- Esarhaddon
-- signature .