March 11, 2007	Sunday	Safar 21, 1428

TEHRAN, March 10: Geological surveys have confirmed new gas reserves in the southern Iranian province of Fars, a senior Iranian oil official said on Saturday without giving details of the size of the discovery.

"In (the cities of) Larestan and Fasa we should move towards new drilling," said Gholamhossein Nozari, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), in a statement posted on the oil ministry's website.

He said Fars province could become an Iranian gas exporting centre in the future.

Iran holds the world's second largest gas reserves after Russia, estimated at 940 trillion cubic feet or more.—Reuters