AAPG Memoir 74, Chapter 21: Major Hydrocarbon Potential in Iran,
by P. L. Versfelt Jr., Pages 417 - 427
from: AAPG Memoir 74: Petroleum Provinces of the
Twenty-first Century, Edited by Marlan W. Downey, Jack C. Threet, and William A. Morgan
Copyright 
2001 by The American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
All rights reserved.
Chapter 21
Major Hydrocarbon Potential in Iran
Porter L. Versfelt Jr.
Versfelt & Associates, Ltd., Houston, Texas,
U.S.A.
ABSTRACT
Huge hydrocarbon potential still exists in Iran, even after prolific 
production
for
many decades. Currently, Iran is operating about 28 drilling rigs (23 of them onshore) and
is producing about 3.6 million barrels of oil per day and about 3 trillion cubic feet of
gas per day from approximately 1200 wells in 39 fields. Since oil was discovered at
Masjid-i-Suleiman in 1908, exploration has extended onshore and offshore to several
provinces and regions of southwestern Iran. Oil production from the Zagros fold belt
dominates Iranian hydrocarbon production. Zagros reservoirs are in Jurassic, Cretaceous,
and Tertiary carbonates and siliciclastics. Despite decades of exploration and production,
future exploration and field-development
opportunities appear to abound, now aided by new
technologies and tools.
