Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.9/ Trend F.Karimov/
Iran has increased its oil export operational capacity to 5 million barrels per day (mbpd), the Mehr News Agency quoted Iranian Oil Terminals Company's Managing Director Pirouz Mousavi as saying.
"Through renovating oil terminals and shipment facilities at the Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, the country's oil exports capacity has been increased to 5 million barrels per day," Mousavi explained.
The combined carrying capacity of oil tankers leaving Iranian ports last month rose 21 percent from August, vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show.
The implied capacity of departing ships gained to the equivalent of 1.30 million barrels a day from 1.07 million barrels.
Iranian Oil Minister, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, has said that major foreign oil companies have expressed hope for intensive cooperation with Iran's National Oil Company after the sanctions against the country are lifted.
He also said that the representatives of these companies have contacted Iranian officials and held talks with them regarding the return to Iran's oil industry.
"The Oil Ministry will spare no effort to increase Iran's crude oil production capacity up to 4 mbpd till the end of the current solar year (to end on March 21, 2014)," Zanganeh added.
The U.S. and the EU have imposed sanctions on Iran's oil export and banking system, as a result of which Iran started experiencing problems with exports of oil and receiving petrodollars.
Each country is currently allowed to deposit the money for importing Iranian crude oil using its national currency to a bank account in the same country. Iran is allowed to use the money for importing certain goods only from that country.
In August, Reuters quoted a senior U.S. official that Iran's monthly revenues from oil sales have dropped 58 percent since just before the United States imposed harsher sanctions on the country in 2011 because of Tehran's disputed nuclear program.
According to the report, Iran's monthly crude oil revenues averaged an estimated $3.4 billion in the first half of this year, down from $6.3 billion in the same period previous year, and $8 billion from the first half of 2011, said the source, who did not want to be named due to the sensitive nature of policy on sanctions.