Azernews.Az

Early production will start at Iran's Kish gas field in the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 21, IRIB reported.

Iran Offshore Oil Company has estimated the project would cost $35 million.

The field is projected to yield 85 million cubic meters of natural gas and 30,000 barrels of gas condensates per day.

In February, IRNA quoted National Iranian Oil Company managing director Ahmad Qalebani as saying that infrastructure development and drilling operations are well underway in the gas field.

He added that two drilling rigs are operating at the onshore section of the field. To date, 13 wells have been drilled across the gas field.

Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said that the National Iranian Oil Company and its subsidiaries should finish drilling wells as soon as possible and to start gas production.

He said bulk of Iran's gas reserves is located in Kish gas field so development and exploitation of the gas field will foster development of the country.

Development plan of the Kish gas field started in 2007. The field holds around 66 trillion cubic feet of in-situ gas and 514 million barrels of condensates.

Iran has the second largest proven gas reserves in the world after Russia. Iraq has said that it needs 10 to 15 million cubic meters of Iranian gas each day.