TEHRAN - Iran has discovered a large gas field in the Caspian Sea with at least 50 trillion cubic feet (some 1.4 trillion cubic meters) of reserves, Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi announced on Sunday.

The field, in waters 700 meters deep, lies wholly within Iran’s territorial waters, Qasemi explained. 

He added excluding this new discovery Iran has 11 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves in the Caspian Sea. 

Mohsen Khojaste-Mehr told the Mehr News Agency that extensive operations are underway to explore new gas deposits across the country which will probably increase the country’s proven gas reserves.

The Fifth Five-Year Development Plan (2010-2015) has envisaged boosting the country’s gas production by 250 million cubic meters per day to reach 1.4 billion cubic meters per day.

A National Iranian Oil Company director has stated that the country’s natural gas reserves will last up to 100 years.

Iran holds the world’s second-largest gas reserves, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy in June. Russia has the biggest reserves of the fuel, BP data show.

Oil Minister Qasemi also announced that Iran is now the sole country in the region which has found access to the technology to drill wells in deep waters. 

Qasemi added that the global oil market is balanced. The oil minister also called on some OPEC members to cut back as Libya resumes oil exports.

"The market is balanced and there is no need to increase OPEC's production ceiling ... Those member countries who have increased their production to compensate for Libya should cut back," Qasemi told reporters ahead of an OPEC meeting on Dec. 14 in Vienna.

Qasemi, who heads the OPEC, said the current price levels are "good" and OPEC's policy is to "preserve the current prices".

Qasemi said that the European Union "definitely" will not impose sanctions on the country's oil exports as the measure will harm the global crude market.

"Our policy is sustainable supply of oil to Europe ... Iran is a major oil producer and any sanctions on our oil export will definitely harm the global market," Qasemi pointed out.

EU leaders called Friday for more sanctions against Iran by the end of January, in an effort to increase pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program.

Iran is OPEC's number two oil producer, exporting 2.6 million barrels a day.

Qasemi added, "We have no problem to find a replacement for the EU oil market and we can easily replace the European market." 

France, backed by Germany and Britain, has led the push to ban Iran’s crude, but some states, notably Greece, have expressed reservations, because of their reliance on Iranian oil.