Iran needs $10 billion to develop Caspian Sea oil and gas fields

TEHRAN,Dec.15 (MNA)--Iran needs some $10 billion to develop its oil and gas fields located in the Caspian Sea. Iran announced on Sunday it has discovered a large gas field in the Caspian Sea with at least 50 trillion cubic feet (some 1.4 trillion cubic meters) of reserves. The field, in waters 700 meters deep, lies wholly within Iran’s territorial waters, Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi explained. He added excluding this new discovery Iran has 11 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves in the Caspian Sea. Qasemi also announced that Iran is now the sole country in the region which has found access to the technology to drill wells in deep waters. Iran plans to invest as much as $50 billion a year in its oil industry to maintain its position as OPEC’s second-largest crude exporter and boost natural gas production. The country needs to increase its output to 5.1 million barrels a day from current 3.9 million barrels by 2015.