Iran does not only have great reserves of petroleum, but it also ranks second in the world for its rich reserves of natural gas. Iran's South Pars is possibly the world's largest natural gas field with reserves estimated at 460 trillion cubic feet (Tcf). Together with Qatar's North Field (357 Tcf), to which South Pars is linked under the Gulf, the area is drawing attention from companies around the globe for its potential to economically produce Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), materials for petrochemicals, Gas to Liquids (GTL) and others. Investment in the area is being lead by such companies as Total, Petronas, Eni and Statoil. The South Pars Project will not only be important for Iran, but it will also be a major international development, supporting demand for energy worldwide.
At Mitsubishi International (Iran) Ltd., the Energy Business and the Chemicals Groups are involved in purchasing products from such oil and natural gas projects while the Machinery Group is engaged in promoting sales of plant machinery and oil tanks.
When many people think of the Middle East, they tend to imagine vast deserts, but Tehran actually has four seasons and offers skiing in the winter. There are three major ski resorts in the area-all within a two and a half hours' drive from Tehran.
Tochal, the closest ski area, can be reached via ropeway in about 30 minutes from the northern part of town. The most popular, however, is the newest ski area, Dizin. Dizin has European-style gondolas and lifts, and people can enjoy skiing and snowboarding there. In recent years, you can see women and men skiing together on the slopes.
The snow in these mountains remains until around June and represents a vital source of water for Tehran in the summer months.
Mobile phones are quickly spreading in Iran. In Northern Tehran, it is popular for people to sit in restaurants or cafes and send jokes to their friends using short message service (SMS). In the recent presidential election, a lot of campaign messages were sent around using SMS. Finally, here is a sample of one of the jokes I have recently received: Definition of a boss-someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early.
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