Raising crude oil production and restoring Iran's market share in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is a national necessity, spokesperson of the Majlis Energy Commission said.
Hossein Amiri-Khamkani called for taking advantage of domestic research centers such as the Research Institute of Petroleum Industry alongside the potential of foreign firms to boost crude production, IRNA reported on Friday.
Iran, once OPEC's second-biggest oil producer and now its fifth-largest, can return production to pre-sanctions level in a short time, according to oil officials.
Tehran plans to produce 3.8 million to 3.9 million barrels of oil a day by March, with output rising by 500,000 bpd soon after sanctions are lifted and by 1 million bpd within the following five months. Despite the fall of oil prices from a $115-high in June 2014 to below $50 this year, Amiri-Khamkani said expanding energy ties with international companies on the prospect of lifting the sanctions would help the Islamic Republic to partially make up for the huge loss in oil revenues.
An Oil Ministry official has declared that the Islamic Republic will reach the 500,000-bpd milestone by late November or early December even before most western sanctions are lifted.
