Trend Persian Service head Dalga Khatinoglu
Despite Iranian officials' constant rejections of releasing the information about the decrease in the country's oil production, The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) new report confirms dropping of Iranian oil output by 120,000 barrels during the current year.
The National Iranian South Oil Company Managing Director Hourmuz Galavand claimed in October 2011 that Iran's current oil production is 3.9 million barrels of oil per day.
Meanwhile, Ghalavand said earlier that Iran's oil production reduces by around 300,000 barrels per year because about 80 percent of oil wells in the country are in their second half-life.
According to OPEC's new report published on Nov.9, Iranian oil output decreased to 3.578 million barrels per day in October 2011.
The country's production was 3.598 million in August and 3.601 million in September. With comparing the figure with 2006, Iran's oil production has fallen by 0.5 mb/d.
OPEC's last Annual Statistical Bulletin published in May also reported that Nigeria with increasing oil production by 300,000 barrels per day surpassed Iran as OPEC's second major oil export in 2010.
According to OPEC, Iran exported 2.246 million barrels of oil per day in 2010.
However, Iran's OPEC Governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi announced last month that OPEC reviewed and changed its data and Iran restores its position as OPEC's second exporter with 2.64 million barrels oil export in a day. OPEC has not confirmed Khatibi's statement officially so far.
Why is Iranian oil output being reduced?
Iran must inject about 280 million cubic meters of gas to old oil wells to keep the oil production level, but it is able to inject only 60 million cubic meters of natural gas per day.
Furthermore, Iran has to install electrical submersible pumps into the low-pressure oil wells to increase the production, but these devices have been banned to sell to Iran since 2008 within the U.S.-imposed sanctions against Iran's disputed nuclear program.
The lack of unified policy at the Oil Ministry is other insulting fact for Iranian oil industry. At present, four ministers have been changed during Iranian President's seven-year-presidency.
The lack of enough foreign investment and high technologies because of withdrawal of international giant companies are also included in the list of sanctioned Iran's oil problems.