Iran Has No Plan to Increase Oil Production in Next 12 Months

Iran does not intend to increase crude output in the next fiscal year that starts on March 21, the National Iranian Oil Company’s managing director said on late Friday.

“The country’s oil production will not rise in the year to come and it will be fixed at the current rate,” Ali Kardor was also quoted as saying by ISNA.

On the current volume of oil output, Kardor noted that while Iran’s daily production capacity stands at nearly 4 million barrels, the actual output stands at around 3.9 million bpd.

According to Kardor, the oil-rich country’s crude export is at a daily average of 1.7 million barrels, excluding condensates, a type of ultra-light crude.

Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said last month that the country's oil output has increased by 165,000 barrels per day in the last 10 months compared with the corresponding period of last year.

"Crude exports have risen by 60,000 bpd in this period," Zanganeh was quoted as saying by IRNA.

According to the oil minister, the country shipped around 777 million barrels of crude oil and 180 million barrels of condensate last year, averaging 2.62 million bpd.

He noted that since the termination of anti-Iran economic sanctions in January 2016, not only has the country's crude production surged by 1 million per day, but its exports have also surged by 1.5 mbpd.

During the international sanctions regime, Iran's oil output and exports stood at 2.5 and 1 million per day respectively.

Iran's export of crude oil and gas condensate amounted to nearly 1 billion barrels in 2017 in a year that OPEC and other producers stepped up efforts to keep a lid on supplies and drain bloated inventories.

The reports named Turkey, Italy, Britain, Hungary and the Netherlands as some of the European clients of Iran's crude.

The sanctions removal helped Iran to resume oil sales to major customers in Europe, including Italy's Saras and Eni, Greek refiner Hellenic Petroleum, Madrid-based Repsol, Royal Dutch Shell and French energy giant Total that holds a stake in an ambitious offshore Iranian gas venture.

source: Financial Tribune