Baku, Azerbaijan, May 27
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran will restore oil production to pre-sanctions level by the end of the current year.
National Iranian Oil Company's Managing Director Roknoddin Javadi said both production and exports are on the rise, Iran's ISNA news agency reported on May 27.
The Iranian solar year starts on March 20.
On April 6, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said Iran forecasts an increase in its crude oil and natural gas production in the current Iranian calendar year.
"Iran's crude oil output is forecast to increase by about 200,000 barrels per day to 4 million barrels per day, and its daily natural gas output is forecast to increase by about 100 million cubic meters per day to 400 million cubic meters per day," the minister explained.
Iran's oil industry will be heading forward with or without sanctions, Zanganeh added.
The sanctions have not hindered the trend of progress of Iran's oil industry, he said, adding that the new model of contracts will help the country circumvent the sanctions.
The country is currently exporting about 1.2 million barrels per day of oil and has earmarked 1.5 million barrels of daily sales in the national budget for the year [Iranian solar year]1393, he added.
By holding 157 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil reserves, Iran possesses the world's fourth largest reserves of crude oil.
An interim accord easing restrictions on insurance for Iran's oil shipments and freeing up cash held outside the country in return for a suspension of nuclear work went into effect in January. Under the agreement, six buyers permitted under U.S. sanctions to take Iranian crude don't have to cut imports to avoid penalties.