Iran claims huge gas field discovery is largest in world

NICOSIA [MENL] -- Iran claims to have discovered the largest reserves of natural gas in the world.

Officials said the gas field was discovered in the south and could be worth nearly $20 billion.

Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said the field is considered the largest in the world, with an estimated reserve of 445 billion cubic meters of gas and more than 240 million barrels of gaseous liquids. He said at current world prices that means a potential value of $16.5 billion.

Zanganeh said drilling began last year and reached a depth of 3,345 meters. He said the field has the capacity to yield 1.5 to 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 24,000 to 32,000 barrels of gaseous liquids daily.

The minister said he expects the field to be exploited for the next 30 years. He said operations will begin later this year.