OREANDA-NEWS. May 23, 2012. Managing director of Khazar Exploration and Production Company (KEPCO), Ali Osouli, announced the thickness of newly oil layer found in Caspian Sea between 24 and 30 meters.

 Ali Osouli, said drilling operations were going on in the field to identify more details on the layer.

‘After 104 years this is for the first time oil is erupted in Caspian sea waters during drilling operations’, the official said adding the field was different from oil and gas layers located in the Persian Gulf, south of Iran.

The National Iranian Oil Company has discovered oil reserves in its territorial waters in the Caspian Sea, which according to preliminary estimates amount to 8-10 billion barrels. The oil deposits were discovered during the development of a major gas field that contains 50 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, the production of which has been conducted by the company last December. Iran is the second largest oil producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia.

The details of a newly-discovered big oil field in the Caspian Sea were made by minister of petroleum Rostam Qasemi as he visited the Amir Kabir semi-submersible drilling platform.

The reserves have been found at a depth of 2,460 meters.