Director of the Exploration Department of the National Iranian Oil Company Mehdi Fakour said in a press conference on Tuesday that studies conducted by international organizations showed three countries of Russia, Iraq, and Iran will have the most explorations in the future and the discoveries in other regional states will come to an end, so the three nations would be ranked among top states in terms of foreign investments and continuation of oil and gas production.
Iraq and Iran will gain the highest potential for exploring oil and gas, he said, adding that the volume of hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Islamic Republic amounts to 16 billion barrels, which is important both in terms of improving the country and absorbing foreign investments.
Fakour went on to say that one of the unique jobs done in Iran is airborne magnetometry up to 7k meters inside the earth in order to identify sedimentary change, which has been carried out for the first time in the country by light planes.
The Islamic Republic has kicked off cooperation with four countries, including Tajikistan, in implementing exploring studies, he said.
Some 14 exploration blocs have been defined in Iran, but none of them have been handed over or invested in due to cruel sanctions on the country, he noted.
According to the director, Iran cooperates with an Asian country and five European ones to follow up on research projects, and an offshore bloc comprised of 30 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas reserves is located in the Persian Gulf, which can play a key role in upgrading industrial level in the country.
He further underlined that another method is geobotanical prospecting, which refers to prospecting based on indicator plants like metallophytes and the analysis of vegetation, and that an Iranian knowledge-based company in collaboration with a university paved the ground for locating the first well explored by use of the method.
The budget for exploration increased 31 percent, he said, adding that the exploration projects in Iran need 1.5 billion dollars within a five-year period.
The Exploration Department of the National Iranian Oil Company is holding negotiations with three Iranian firms for outsourcing three blocs worth 2.5 billion dollars, the official noted.
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