SHANA� Managing Director of the Oil Development Engineering Nuroddin Shahnazizadeh says by the end of this Iranian calendar year to March 20, oil production from the fields located west of Karoun River will reach more than 300,000 barrels per day.

Shahnazizadeh told Shana that that oil fields west of Karoun River are Green fields and their main difference with other Iranian oil rich regions is that with their development, programs for increase in oil production of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) will be achieved.

He said the hydrocarbon rich fields west of Karoun River start from an area in vicinity of Ahvaz and stretch up to the border areas.

In fact, he added, the length and width of the oil rectangle start from the western banks of Karoun river in vicinity of Jofeir area up to Iran-Iraq common border and from Chazzabeh to west of Darkhoein region in the south, which is the same as west of Karoun River.

Such an oil span contains two super giant and main fields of Azadegan and Yadavaran, which are among the world's major oil fields, containing about 67 billion barrels of in-place oil reserves, said the official.

The projects for development of oil fields west of Karoun are today the most important national projects and the NIOC has offered the highest support for them, said the official, adding that there is no serious problem to finance the projects and evidently, operation of the projects in the region will play a remarkable role in increase in the oil production capacity, energy supply and more bargaining power of Iran in the international forums.

Up to the next five years, the fields will yield more than one million barrels per day oil, according to Shahnazizadeh.

Major portion of oil reserves in oil fields west of Karoun are shared with Iraqi oil field reserves, so financing related projects is among the NIOC priorities and activities focus on the area, he added.