Iran is reviving Oil output to pre-sanctions levels
Iran has started ramping up its oil production and expects to reach pre-sanctions levels in one to two months, Deputy Oil Minister Amir Hossein Zamaninia said.
The oil market will be able to accommodate Iran’s maximum oil output of around 3.9 million to 4 million barrels a day, Zamaninia told reporters on the sidelines of an oil conference in Tehran on Friday.
Iran has been subject to tough U.S. sanctions since 2018, when the administration of then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from an international deal that restricted the Middle Eastern country’s nuclear activities.
President Joe Biden is expected to seek the restoration of that accord and officials in Tehran have expressed the hope he will ease restrictions on its petroleum sales. But for now, the sanctions are still in place and any buyer of Iranian crude would face the same legal and financial penalties that have deterred most potential customers over the past few years.
Zamaninia declined to specify the current level of Iran’s oil exports, but said the numbers were “much better than many assume,” while Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said shipments have increased “dramatically.”
Zamaninia, who is also Iran’s OPEC governor, said Tehran had been discussing energy projects, including upstream projects and oil purchases, over the past several weeks with European and Asian companies.
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