Oil output near pre-sanctions, IRAN

Iran says its production of crude oil has already reached near levels that existed before a series of US-led economic sanctions drastically reduced it between 2012 and 2015. 

Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said that Iran is currently producing about four million barrels of oil per day. 

“Based on secondary sources, Iran’s production of oil is currently four million barrels per day,” Zanganeh told reporters on the sidelines of a domestic oil and energy conference in Tehran. “We are very close to that level.” 

The announcement came as Iran on Monday officially invited global energy giants to bid for its new round of oil exploration and development projects.

The new projects will be awarded through the new format of Iran’s oil sector contracts. 

Under the new format, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) will set up joint ventures for crude oil and gas production with international companies which will be paid with a share of the output.

The new format also envisages different stages of exploration, development and production that will be offered to contractors as an integrated package, with the emphasis laid on enhanced and improved recovery.

Based on the old format of Iran’s oil contracts – known as the buybacks - the host government agreed to pay the contractor an agreed price for all volumes of hydrocarbons the contractor produced.

Zanganeh emphasized that he did not expect any problem to occur as a result of implementing the new format of Iranian oil sector contracts. 

“There is no banking problem that could stand in the way of Iran’s new format of contracts,” he said.