Iran’s authorities have been consistently pursuing their goal to boost oil output volumes. Iranian oil producers one by one set new drilling records after the lifting of Western sanctions. Recently, the oil production capacity has reached a new record of 3.8 million barrels a day. It is not so high compared to other countries but still exceeds the pre-sanctions level. Available data shows that Iran’s daily capacity averaged 3.7 million barrels a day before sanctions. After anti-Iran sanctions were imposed, the output volume dropped by more than 30% to 2.4 million barrels a day. Nowadays, the country has managed to restore prior capacity and even expand it.
Moreover, Iran is swiftly resuming cooperation with old buyers and seeks other markets. The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is reported to have signed an important agreement with South Korea. Negotiations took place at the highest level between Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh and South Korean Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kang Ho-in. Besides, Iran signed a memorandum of understanding for oil shipments with South Africa. So we might witness not only record production levels, but also skyrocketing shipments. “Iran’s exports of oil and gas condensates have reached 2.3 million barrels per day, almost twice as much as before the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers,” Iran’s president said.
