Iran’s oil production increased by 18.8% to 3.92 million barrels per day during January-September 2016, the US Energy Information Agency reported on Friday.
According to the report, Iran’s oil output, including gas condensates, stood at 4.170 million bpd in September, about 20,000 bpd more than November and 870,000 bpd more than September 2015, Trend reported.
Iran’s September oil production was the highest since the late 1980s, the report noted.
It did not mention the volume of crude oil and gas condensate separately, but according to OPEC and International Energy Agency’s reports, Iran’s crude oil production was around 3.65 million bpd in September.
Iran also says it produces about 560,000 bpd of gas condensate.
Iran has planned to add new production from fields along its border with Iraq. It aims to add 250,000 barrels a day of a new heavy export grade, which it will call West Karun, by the end of 2016 and raise output to 700,000 barrels a day within three years.
Longer-term output expansion will come from new contracts with foreign oil companies. Iran hopes to receive the first bids as early as 2017 and aims to lift output to 5 million barrels a day within two or three years—at least 1.3 million barrels a day above what it was in 2010, the year before international sanctions were introduced. Under an agreement with OPEC reached last month, Iran is allowed to produce 3.8 million barrels per day through the first half of 2017, close to its pre-sanctions peak of around 4 million barrels.
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