TEHRAN: Total exports of crude oil and gas condensate by Iran neared a record 3 million barrels per day (bpd) in the Persian month of Esfand which ended on March 21, Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh says. Iran has been ramping up crude oil production to win back its market share since sanctions were lifted on the country in January 2015 under a nuclear accord with world countries. “The pace of growth in Iran’s crude oil production and exports has amazed international observers who did not think Iran could raise its production by 1 million barrels per day within three to four months after the cancellation of sanctions,” Zangehen said.
Iran’s oil exports stood around 1 million bpd during the years when the West intensified sanctions on the Islamic Republic in 2011 over its nuclear program. Total exports of crude oil and condensate averaged 2.8 million bpd in the months up to the new Iranian year which started on March 21, Zangeneh said. “We have managed to establish this rate as a right of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and bring Iran’s (market) share to figures before the sanctions,” Zangeneh said.
