Iran Claims Massive New Caspian Gas Field

Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi

Iran's oil minister says the country has discovered a huge natural-gas field in the Caspian Sea.

The ministry's news website, shana.ir, quotes Rostam Qassemi as saying the field is located within Iran's maritime borders at a depth of 700 meters and contains an estimated 50 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Qassemi said Iran has 11 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves in the Caspian Sea, excluding the latest discovery.

Iran holds the world's second-largest natural-gas reserves, after Russia.

Most of its gas production is used domestically.

compiled from agency reports