TEHRAN, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- More than a dozen new oil and natural gas fields near the Persian Gulf island of Qeshm are slated for development, an Iranian energy official said.
The Iranian government is searching for ways to stimulate an energy sector handicapped by sanctions. Western sanctions targeting Iran are designed to starve it of energy revenue that could finance a controversial nuclear program.
Heydar Yarveisi, director of Qeshm development at the Iranian Offshore Oil and Gas Co., said 16 new oil and natural gas fields are set for development near the Persian Gulf island, the semiofficial Fars News Agency reported Monday.
Eight of the 16 fields already have the infrastructure in place for development, he said. Fars reports there may be more than 4 billion barrels of oil and 10 trillion cubic feet of natural gas associated with the island.
Fars reported Monday the National Iranian Drilling Co. completed drilling 23 wells in the onshore Yadavaran oil field, near the northern end of the Persian Gulf. The report said the field is set for a preliminary production of 85,000 barrels of oil per day.
Iran sits on some of the largest deposits of oil and natural gas reserves in the world. Production, however, is hampered by sanctions.
