Tehran, PIN, 23/04/2010

TEHRAN (Shana): The number of firms participating in the 15th international oil exhibition in Tehran have increased by ten percent when compared with the number of last year participants, said the ministry of petroleum public relations department head, Hossain Porsan here on Thursday.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 15th Tehran oil show, Mr. Housain Porsan said that widespread presence of domestic and foreign firms in the show indicates the strength and the important place of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the world oil and gas scene.

Noting that totally 1342 firms are present in the 15th Tehran oil show, Mr. Housain Porsan said that 907 domestic and 435 firms from other countries have participated in the current exhibition.
 
The 15th international oil show was inaugurated officially on Thursday in the presence of Iran's first vice president Mohammad Reza Rahimi and the petroleum minister, Seyed Masoud Mirkazemi.
 
In addition to the first  vice president and the petroleum minister, a number of foreign countries ambassadors, members of parliament, oil industry and international oil companies managers were present in the inauguration ceremony.

Dr. Mirkazemi, the Iranian petroleum minister said in his inauguration ceremony speech that global energy prices are not fair stressing the current strategy of the ministry of petroleum is to develop shared gas fields and injecting gas to oil fields.
   
He said recoverable oil reserves of the country amounts to 138 billion barrels remarking that Iran is sitting atop 29 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves, second largest in the world.
 
Elsewhere in his speech, the petroleum minister said despite some international restrictions against Iran's oil and gas sector, the country's experts and companies relying on their faith, have been able to achieve remarkable progress in the field.

Mirkazemi added that the ministry of petroleum intends to absorb 125 billion dollars investment in the upstream sector and 75 billion dollars in the downstream sector over the fifth five year development plan (2010- 2015).

The exhibition holds from April 22 to 26 at Tehran Permanent International Fairground.