TEHRAN (NNN-FNA) -- The value of the recent oil reserves discovered in the Caspian Sea surpasses USD 50 billion, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) chief Ahmad Qalebani announced here.
"We spent 3.000 billion rials in exploration in the Caspian Sea but the value of the discovered hydrocarbon reserves is expected to exceed USD 50 billion," Qalebani said, addressing a ceremony Monday held to mark the huge oil find in the Caspian Sea.
"100 years after discovering oil in Iran, the country's youths succeeded in discovering new oil reserves in the Caspian Sea without getting help from foreigners," he said according to the oil ministry's website.
"The discovery of oil in the Caspian Sea stunned those who intended to tighten sanctions against our country," Qalebani told the audience attending the ceremony.
Referring to an EU ban on selling gasoline and other oil products to Iran, the NIOC's top executive said, "Two years ago some countries thought they can put pressure on Iran by halting the sales of gasoline and other oil products, but those sanctions backfired and were turned into an opportunity which enabled us to reduce 20 million litres of daily gasoline imports to the lowest level by achieving self sufficiency in gasoline production.
On investment in the upstream sector, the official said last year USD 22.5 billion was invested in the sector, a remarkable rise against a year earlier which stood at USD 16.5 billion.
Qalebani, who is also a deputy oil minister, thanked the Khazar Oil Company and North Drilling Company for their contribution to the discovery of hydrocarbon reserves in the Caspian Sea. -- NNN-FNA
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