Iran’s ‘oil robot’ to explore in Caspian Sea

TEHRAN,Dec.17(MNA)--Iran has utilized an advanced robot in its Amirkabir Drilling Platform to explore oil and gas reserves in the Caspian Sea, the North Drilling Company’s managing director announced. In 2009, the Amirkabir Drilling Platform started operation in the Caspian Sea and found probable reserves of oil and gas, Hedayatollah Khademi told . The Amirkabir platform is among the most advanced semi-submergible rigs in the world and is second to none in Asia, he said. 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, 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. The huge gas field holds an estimated 8 billion barrels of crude oil, the managing director of Khazar Oil Company announced. “An exploratory well has been drilled in the gas field to give new details on its hydrocarbon reserves,” Ali Osouli said.