Mohsen Khojastehmehr added three oil fields, Hirkan in northeastern province of Golestan, Tengoo and Genaveh in southwestern province of Bushehr, and one gas field, Cheshmeh Shour in northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi, have been discovered in the two-year period, increasing the country’s recoverable liquid hydrocarbons by more than 2.6 billion barrels.

The NIOC CEO said 3D seismic data acquisition operations have jumped by more than 300 percent under the 13th administration when compared with surveys carried out during the previous years, indicating Iran has exceled in the region’s oil and gas exploration, the Farsi-language daily “Iran” reported.

Last week, Oil Minister Javad Owji said Iran stood top among regional countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, in terms of exploration.

All wells drilled for exploration purposes under the 13th administration have contained hydrocarbon, meaning the exploration success rate has stood at 100 percent, he continued.

Given the latest discoveries, the reserve replacement ratio for liquid hydrocarbon is 87 percent, mentioned the minister, explaining it means if 100 barrels of crude oil and gas condensates are produced in Iran and consumed inside the country or exported to other countries, 87 barrels of that output have been replaced by newly-discovered deposits.