Norsk Hydro AS has won the tender to explore the Anaran region, located near the Iranian western border city of Dehloran in Ilam province, said Abdulkarim Garavand, governor of the city, last week, according to unconfirmed reports by the OPEC News Agency and Reuters.
Details of the agreement were not disclosed, but Garavand said the Norwegian company would soon start collecting seismic data and performing drilling operations in the area.
"Commissioning the oil and gas resources in this province can contribute to the removal of poverty," Garavand pointed out.
The official said 11% of the gas reserves and 2.5% of the oil deposits of Iran lie in Ilam province. About 70,000 b/d of oil from 50 wells in the province is currently being pumped to neighboring Khuzestan province.
Iran holds the second-largest gas reserves in the world, after Russia, and is the second-biggest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.