The chief of Iran's Caspian Oil Company, Mohammad Hossein Dana, said in a published statement on Wednesday that the store of crude oil at the Iranian sector of the Caspian Sea is estimated at more than 10 billion barrels.

He, moreover, said that Iran has not decided so far on the amount of oil it would extract from the bottom of the sea.

Dana said prospecting studies had shown the oil in the entire Caspian region is of high quality.

However, more precise information as to the parameters of oil will become available after completion of drilling operations.

The company chief is sure that development of the Caspian oilfields would be cost-effective despite technical problems.

Some of the littoral states have long been extracting oil and gas from deposits in the bottom of the sea.

The Caspian Oil Company will soon be taking measures to keep abreast with these states in the development of the Caspian's hydrocarbon wealth, Dana said.