TEHRAN, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Iran intends to start sinking exploration wells to exploit the oil reserves in the Caspian Sea by as early as March, oil production executives said.
The Caspian Sea holds as much as 44 billion barrels of oil reserves, with the southern waters near Iran holding at least half of that.
Iran in May announced plans for the construction of a $400 million offshore oil platform, Iran-Alborz, in its territorial waters in the Caspian Sea.
Tehran pegged expansion of oil exploration in its Caspian waters as a top national priority.
Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh, a board member at Iran's Khazar Exploration and Production Co., told the Shana news agency of the Iranian Oil Ministry that Iran-Alborz would help Iran achieve its oil ambitions.
"There is a bright prospect of finding reserves of crude oil in the region (by using Iran-Alborz) considering the high potential for hydrocarbon reserves in the Caspian Sea," he said.
The semi-floatable rig can operate in depths of more than 3,300 feet with a maximum drilling depth of 19,685 feet.
Iran sits on roughly 136 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, which is about 10 percent of the total proven reserves in the world.
