Iranian oil minister Gholam Hossein Nozari has confirmed that a significant oil discovery has been made in the south of the country.

Speaking at a press conference in the capital, Tehran, the minister revealed that the new field, located close to the city of Arvand in the province of Khuzestan, could hold reserves of up to 500 million barrels of oil.

This comes just days after it was announced that a new oil field with reserves of 525 million barrels has been made close to the southern port city of Assaluyeh, taking the potential of the discoveries made over the course of July alone past 1.5 billion barrels.

Furthermore, Mr Nozari noted: "A few other oil fields have also been discovered about which the public will be informed in the coming weeks."

Earlier this year the Iranian government revealed that it has total oil reserves of some 136 billion barrels of oil, making it the second largest producer in the Opec coalition.

In addition, the head of the state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) stated in May that production levels are likely to be increased as it concentrates on developing smaller fields across the country.

5th Global Education & Training event for Oil and Gas: Exploration & Production