23-06-09 Huge natural gas deposits have been discovered in Hormozgan province, off the Persian Gulf coast, with a probable output tantamount to ten phases of the South Pars gas field, the National Iranian Offshore Oil Company managing director said on June 22.
Mahmud Zirakchainzadeh told that tapping the fields may boost Iran's daily natural gas production capacity by 10 bn cf, turning Hormozgan into the country's second gas hub.

"NIOOC puts priority on the development of newly discovered gas fields in the Persian Gulf region," he said, adding that the produced gas will be supplied to domestic and foreign markets and will be used in production of liquefied natural gas as well.
He went on to say that huge investments have been made for the development of Hormozgan offshore gas fields and that the related contracts will come into force in the current year. He referred to Abuzar oilfield located in Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, saying recent studies show that the field's in-situ reserve should be 1 bn barrels more than the previously estimated figure of 3 bn barrels.

Zirakchainzadeh said, "Abuzar is Iran's largest oilfield in the Persian Gulf region." He added, "Currently 30 % of the field's crude deposit is recoverable, but the underway gas lift plan would raise the amount to 43 % by March 2010."
In February, Abuzar field's output declined by 40,000 bpd due to a gas leak incident. Currently the field produces 140,000 barrels of crude per day, down 6,000-7,000 bpd in comparison to the period before the incident. Iran's 2008 estimated proven natural gas reserves stood at 948 tcf, second only to Russia. Roughly two-thirds of Iranian natural gas reserves are located in non-associated fields.