News

Iran started
drilling the first exploratory oil well in its territorial waters of
the Caspian Sea, official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.

"The drilling of the first oil well is
taking place at the dept of 1,550 metres in Iran's territorial waters of
the Caspian Sea," a senior oil official Hedayatollah Khademi, who heads
the state owned Iran's North Drilling Company, was quoted by IRNA as
saying.

State television also reported the move
was the first from the three planned drillings to estimate the amount of
recoverable oil available in Caspian Sea waters.

Iran is the world's fifth-largest crude
exporter, with most of its existing reserves located in its southeast
and offshore in the Gulf.

The Islamic state, which is at odds with
the West over its controversial nuclear activities, lacks the latest
technology and sufficient financial investments in its oil and gas
sector.

Head of the National Iranian Oil Company
(NIOC) Seifollah Jashnsaz said early in February that the country's oil
and gas sector needed to attract more foreign investment.

Jashnsaz said Iran is in talks with five
European and Asian energy firms for some USD 30 billion worth of oil and
gas contracts.