“We are increasing our oil output which will reach the designated production level,” Gholamreza Manouchehri, National Iranian Oil Company’s (NIOC) deputy head for engineering and development affairs told IRNA.

On November 30, 2016, the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) finalized an agreement to cut its overall production by 1.2 million barrels a day and set its new production ceiling at 32.5 million barrels a day as of January 2017.

The agreement, however, allowed Iran to raise production by 90,000 bpd to nearly four million barrels a day from January this year.

Manouchehri pointed to reports that Iran’s production ceiling has increased beyond the level set by OPEC saying the rise does not run counter to the terms of the agreement.

“Iran’s average oil production must only be below the level set by OPEC in a period of six months,” he added.

The November deal — the first in eight years — also granted Libya and Nigeria, which had seen their production drop due of armed conflict, an exemption from the cut.

Oil has rallied since November amid speculations that the supply cuts would boost prices. Some market analysts say that crude prices could reach $60-$70 a barrel in the coming months if the cuts are fully enforced.

Iran oil market upbeat

Since the lifting of sanctions began in January last year, the Islamic Republic has largely increased oil exports.

Speaking on the first anniversary of the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal in a gathering in Tehran on January 16, First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said that the exports of Iran’s oil and gas condensates are at their highest levels since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Tehran and the P5+1 — the US, Britain, France, China, Russia plus Germany — signed the nuclear accord known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), on July 14, 2015.

Under the landmark deal, which went into force on January 16, 2016, the Islamic Republic undertook to place restrictions on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions against the country.

The post Iran increasing oil output to nearly 4m bpd appeared first on IRAN This Way.

OPEC in a monthly report said it had recorded Iran’s new oil production capacity for September.

The country’s production in August stood at 3.634 mb/d, the Organization added in its report as reported by Azernews.az.

Iran is presently OPEC’s third largest producer after Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

It has repeatedly announced that it plans to increase its oil production to as high as 4 mb/d that existed before US-led sanctions imposed against it in 2011.

The sanctions mainly prevented foreign investments in Iran’s oil industry that it needed for its oil production. They also restricted the country’s oil exports to around 1 mb/d.

Before the sanctions were lifted, Iran said it had made the necessary preparations to boost its oil production capacity to pre-sanctions levels.

Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh had repeatedly emphasized that the Islamic Republic was determined to regain its share of the oil market that it had lost as a result of the sanctions within a short period of time.

Iranian oil sales have nearly doubled since sanctions were lifted on its oil exports in January 2016. In fact, Iran is recovering market share faster than many experts had expected, Azernews.az added in its report.

In early June, Reuters reported a rapid surge in Iran’s oil exports which in itself indicated a rise in the country’s oil production. Reuters said shipping data showed the country’s oil exports were close to pre-sanctions level of 2.5 million barrels per day, stressing that it had been able to improve its exports capabilities at a much faster pace than anticipated.

The post OPEC approves Iran’s oil output at 3.6 mb/d appeared first on IRAN This Way.