Iran hopes to raise its crude oil production to around 4 million b/d in the next two weeks, up from the current level of 3.89 million b/d, a senior National Iranian Oil Company official said Monday.
The Islamic Republic also aims to increase its exports to 2.4 million b/d, from 2.2 million b/d currently, NIOC managing director Ali Kardor told journalists on the sidelines of a conference in Tehran.
"We think we will be able to export 2.5 million b/d [by the end of the Iranian year], and gas condensates will be 500,000 b/d then," Kardor said.
Oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said in a speech to the conference Iran was aiming to reach a production capacity of 4.03 million b/d by the end of the current Iranian year in March 2017.
This is just below Iran's pre-sanctions production of 4.085 million b/d, Deputy Oil Minister for International and Commercial Affairs Amir Hossein Zamaninia told reporters.
He stressed that the OPEC member needs to reach the pre-sanctions level before it can talk of freezing production.
"We will talk about figures in November," Zamaninia said when asked if Iran would freeze at this level or cut from it.
Zanganeh said in September Iran would be willing to discuss an OPEC move to stabilize the market when its output reaches "close to 4 million" b/d.
Along with Nigeria and Libya, Iran is one of three countries exempt from a deal that OPEC brokered in Algiers in which it agreed to cut production to between 32.5 million b/d and 33 million b/d.
The deal would mean a total cut of 200,000-700,000 b/d when compared with OPEC's 33.2 million b/d August production, based on OPEC secondary sources. OPEC will also seek support for the cut from non-OPEC producers.
The details of the deal are expected to be worked out at the next regular meeting of the producers' group in Vienna at the end of November.
"It's not about production cut. In November, a figure will be determined for the production of all countries," Zanganeh said when asked if Iran would be ready to join an OPEC ceiling cut, adding that he was hopeful of an agreement at the meeting.
