The National Iranian Oil Company discovered a huge crude oil and gas reserve in the region of Assaluyeh in the southern part of the Islamic republic.

The Iranian news agency, Mehr, reported that after drilling the first discovered well in the gas-rich area and examining geological data, it was confirmed that the region holds huge reserves of crude oil, as well as natural gas.

Officials in the National Iranian Oil Company said that the studies show that the region holds about 260 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

Information disseminated by the company reveals that the volume of oil reserves discovered in the region far exceeds initial expectations. Iranian reserves of crude oil are forecasted to grow by one billion barrels due to the discovery.

Iran’s oil and liquid gas reserves are estimated at 700 billion barrels.