20:35, 07 December 2009 | GMT +5
Iran to launch oil, gas exploration in Caspian Sea
TEHRAN. December 7. KAZINFORM. Iran is to start exploration drillings in the Caspian Sea for oil and gas by the end of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2010), the local satellite Press TV reported on Monday; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.

With the inauguration and operation of Iran-Alborz semi-floating rig, the country can reach a high level of technical knowledge and oil industry technology in deep waters, Press TV quoted an Iranian official at Khazar Exploration and Production Co. (KEPCO) as saying.
"There is a bright prospect of finding reserves of crude oil in the region... in the Caspian Sea," Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh, a member of KEPCO's board of directors, said on Monday.
Earlier in July, Iran announced that the country would launch exploration of oil and gas using its domestically-built semi-floating drilling rig in the Caspian Sea; Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.news.xinhuanet.com for full version.