It estimates the field has reserves well in excess of its initial estimates.

"This is much bigger than what we had expected to find there. The reserves could be bigger than 10 billion barrels," a spokesman for state-run KNOC said.   Related Products   

The South Korean consortium has a 40-percent stake in the project, with Rosneft holding the rest.

"We plan to carry out further analyses with a view to drilling test holes late next year," the spokesman said, adding that commercially recoverable reserves are usually about 40 percent of geographical reserves.

Companies involved in the Kamchatka project signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2004. At that time the field was estimated to contain 3.7 billion barrels.

Yonhap news agency said the oilfield is estimated to cover 62,680 square kilometers, or roughly two-thirds the size of South Korea.

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