Iran has discovered for the first time an oilfield of premium quality in the central part of the country, the state-run Tehran Radio has reported a senior oil official as saying. "The discovered oil in the Aran and Bidgol region is of the light category and is of the most premium quality in the world," said Mahmoud Mohaddes, the director of exploration department of the Oil Ministry.
The Aran and Bidgol region is in the vicinity of the city of Kashan, Isfahan Province, in central Iran. The exploration contract on this region was first signed with the Chinese oil company Sinopec three years ago and the first exploration well was drilled earlier last year.
The bulk of Iran's oil reserves lie in the southern parts of the country and in the territorial waters of the Persian Gulf. However, the discovery of oil in Aran and Bidgol has raised the hope for the existence of oil in the central parts of Iran.
The National Iranian Oil Co. has stepped up efforts toward the discovery of every single oil and gas field in the country. With this aim, it has defined 51 new exploration oil blocks in different parts of the country that will go on for international tenders in phases.
Iran has produced 8.6 billion barrels of oil in the past six years but the amount has been compensated with the discovery of 11.5 billion barrels of new oil. Iran's oil reserves stand at 130 billion barrels which amount to 12% of the overall global reserves and 15% of that of OPEC.