Iran discovers 2 new oil fields

The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Director for Exploration Seyed Mahmoud Mohaddes announced that the country has discovered two new oil fields. "We will release the detailed information of these two new oil fields by the end of the current (Iranian) year (ending March 20)," Mohaddes told reporters in Tehran on Wednesday. He also stated that Iran has discovered 5 oil and gas fields in the current Iranian year (March 21, 2011 to March 20, 2012), including Khayyam oil field and Madar gas field. Iran sits on the world's second largest reserves of both oil and gas. The country ranks fourth in the world in terms of crude production after Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States. The Islamic Republic also stands fourth in gas production after the US, Russia, and Canada. The Islamic Republic has the world's second-largest crude reserves after Saudi Arabia and the second-largest gas reserves after Russia. Senior Iranian oil officials have recently announced that Iran plans to invest $18 billion in the development of its oil and gas fields in the hydrocarbon-rich South of the country in a 5-year development plan ending 2015.