TEHRAN, May 12 (UPI) -- Iran's proven oil reserves increased dramatically, bringing in foreign investments of roughly $10 billion in the past year, officials said.
Seifollah Jashnsaz, director of the National Iranian Oil Co., told the Mehr news agency in Iran that oil reserves now stand at more than 138 billion barrels and production has increased substantially.
"Already the capacity of the country's oil production is more than 4.3 million barrels per day," he said.
Iran ranks third in the world in terms of proven oil reserves with about 136 billion barrels, behind Saudi Arabia and Canada. It is the second-largest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cartel.
Iran is pushing aggressively for deals in its energy sector to boost output amid crippling Western-backed economic sanctions.
Jashnsaz added that natural gas production had passed 1.7 million cubic feet per day. With more than 990 trillion cubic feet in proven gas reserves, Iran ranks second in the world after Russia.
