Tehran, April 22, IRNA � Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said on Tuesday that a project concerning Karoon oil fields has been forwarded to the Oil Ministry which will result in the drying up of Hoor al-Azim wetland.




�I disagreed with the idea as I consider it a treachery to the future generations.�

Zanganeh was speaking at a ceremony on the occasion of the Iranian �Clean Air Day� at the 16th national conference for welcoming the green industry.

The oil minister further remarked, �With 100-meter drilling in the sea we will extract oil; therefore we can do the same in Hoo al-Azim wetland which has a maximum depth of two meters.�

He said in his opinion if an operation is to be conducted in Hoor al-Azim, it should not result in the drying up of, or inflict the least damage on, the environment of the region.

Elsewhere in his remark, Zanganeh referred to the production of Euro 4 gasoline in the country and said its distribution in metropolitan cities such as Tehran, Arak, Karaj, Tabriz and Isfahan has led to the reduction of air pollution to a great extent.

He noted that operation of the first refining unit of the Persian Gulf with a production of 36 million liters of the standard Euro 4 and 5 gasoline on daily basis will be a great step in the area of production and distribution of standard gasoline.

As for the consumption of CNG gas in the country, the oil minister said 20 million cubic meters of CNG which is equal to 20 million liters of gasoline is consumed in the country per day which should be increased and efforts are underway to develop supply and consumption of this fuel.


By IRNA