Baghdad  - Iraq on Friday began oil exploration for the first time in 20 years, with initial drilling in the southern Nassiriya province.

Three exploration teams, consisting of engineers, geologists, geophysicists and technicians would oversee operations at the al-Gharaf oil field, Oil Ministry spokesman Assem Gehad told the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency.

Gehad had previously stated that Iraq's oil reserves could be double the official estimate of 115 billion barrels. Iraq's geological structure indicates a high probability of oil reserves. Only 115 oil reserve sites have been drilled, with 415 yet to be explored.

Al-Nassiriya is located some 350 kilometres south of Baghdad. (dpa)