TEHRAN - Managing director of Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh stated on Friday that his company has discovered a new oil reserve in Farsi Oil Field in the Persian Gulf.

He said the oil field could yield over one billion barrels in reserves.
Zirakchianzadeh stated that the IOOC has finalized the exploration of the filed and if it proves profitable the company will decide whether to expand the field.
He said that the global economic meltdown may affect the expansion of the field because “Investment needs security and the stability of prices is the best security.”
Iran holds 10 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves and 15 percent of its gas. It is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) second largest exporter and the world’s fourth oil producer.
Zirakchianzadeh also said the IOOC is negotiating a deal with the Indian ONGC company on the expansion of Farsi Gas Field.
He expressed hope that the agreement will be signed by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2009)