TEHRAN (PIN) -- A senior official with the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) said the development of first oil well at Paranj oilfield has begun.

“Once feasibility studies were conducted, an oil well 3,050 meters deep was drilled by NIOC exploration department and the existence of oil at the site was verified,” Seifollah Jashnsaz told PIN on Thursday. The official said relevant operations, including the installation of the mast and construction of pipelines were completed in 45 days. “Some 3,000 barrels of crude is now being extracted from this oil well,” Jashnsaz added. He noted that preparing an oil well in such a short time was quite unprecedented in the oil industry. “Given its proper depth and oil layer, the first oil well in Paranj can play a decisive role in raising the oil production capacity of the oil-rich areas in southern Iran,” concluded NISOC managing director. The recently exploited oil well is worth more than 30 billion dollars. Iran is the world’s fourth largest producer of oil and most of its oil resources and refineries are located in the south of the country