Iran discovers gas field

Tehran, April 29 (IANS) Iran has discovered a major gas field, a media report said Sunday.

It is located in southwestern Iran's Khuzestan province and estimated to contain reserves as much as the South Pars gas field in the Persian Gulf, Xinhua quoted the semi-official Mehr news agency as saying.

The South Pars and North Dome, covering 9,700 sq km in the Persian Gulf, and shared between Iran and Qatar, is the world's largest gas field. According to the International Energy Agency, it holds an estimated 1,800 trillion cubic feet of in-situ natural gas.

The South Pars, covering 3,700 square km, is in the Iranian territorial waters, while North Dome, covering 6,000 sq km is in the Qatari territorial waters.

Seyyed Mahmoud Mohaddes, exploration director of National Iranian Oil Company, said a 5,000-meter well will be drilled to estimate the reserve in the new gas field.