The Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in its Annual Statistical Report announced that the volume of Iran’s oil reserves amounted to 154.58bln in 2012, showing an increase of more than 1.8 percent as compared with the figures in the year before.
Venezuela with 297.735bln barrels of crude and Saudi Arabia with 265.85bln barrels precede Iran in the OPEC’ list as the states holding the largest and second largest crude reserves.
According to the OPEC report, the world’s crude reserves stood at 1.478211trln in 2012, showing a 0.9 percent increase compared with the preceding year.
In April, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Director for Exploration Hormoz Qalavand announced that the country discovered 15 oil and gas deposits in the last Iranian year (ended on March 20).
Speaking to reporters, Qalavand said that NIOC focused its oil and gas exploration activities on border areas last Iranian year, adding that the country found a total number of 15 new oil and gas layers last year.
In July 2012, Iranian Oil officials announced that their efforts to identify unconventional hydrocarbon reserves in the country have led to the discovery of some oil shale deposits in the Western parts of the country in the Ghali Kooh region.
In December 2012, Iran's deputy oil minister said Iran's proven crude oil and natural gas reserves are worth around $37 trillion.
Iran ranks the third globally in terms of oil reserves while having the world's second-largest natural gas reserves after Russia with 34 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves.
