TEHRAN (AFP) – Iran boasted on Monday that its proven oil reserves have risen by nine percent to 150.31 billion barrels, partly driven by new discoveries.

“Our oil reserves are today at 150.31 billion barrels,” Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi told a news conference, compared with the previous figure of 138.0 billion barrels.

“Our calculations are still ongoing. This figure is from a six months report based on production information and new discoveries,” Mirkazemi said.

The announcement comes a week after neighbouring Iraq claimed it had overtaken Tehran in terms of size of oil reserves.

On October 4, Iraq reported a sharp rise in proven oil reserves that it said had catapulted it to third place worldwide, behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

It announced a new figure of 143.1 billion barrels of oil representing a 24 percent increase over the old level of 115 billion barrels.

Iran is OPEC’s second largest member, behind Saudi Arabia.