Iran claims 9 percent increase in oil reserves

TEHRAN: Iran has claimed that its oil reserves have risen by nine percent to 150.31 billion barrels, partly driven by new discoveries.In a press conference, the Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi said Monday that Iran’s oil reserves were at present at 150.31 billion barrels as compared to the previous figure of 138.0 billion barrels.“Our calculations are still ongoing. This figure is from a six months report based on production information and new discoveries,” Mirkazemi said.It is pertinent to mention here that the announcement came a week after the neighbouring Iraq claimed it had overtaken Tehran in terms of size of oil reserves.Iraq had claimed on October 4 that a sharp rise in proven oil reserves had catapulted it to third place worldwide, behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.It announced a new figure of 143.1 billion barrels of oil representing a 24 percent increase over the old level of 115 billion barrels.Iran is OPEC’s second largest member, behind Saudi Arabia – Sananews