Bahman Soleymani said estimates are being done on shale deposits in Qali Kouh region.
He said the contract for shale oil studies in Qali Kouh was signed with Tehran University’s Petroleum Institute in March 2011.
“The objective behind studying these shale deposits is to identify possible reservoirs. Everything is now in the stage of study and research and naturally with the identification of these resources, the volume of the country’s oil and gas reserves will increase,” said Soleymani.
The shale oil exploration study is estimated to cost more than one million euros plus IRR 30 billion.
Soleymani said some lab equipment used in the studies will be supplied by Asian and European countries.
He, however, said shale oil and gas recovery is not economical for Iran due to conventional deposits.