Minister puts daily crude output at 3.4m barrels
Iranian Oil Minister Javad Owji on Wednesday announced that Iran’s oil production has reached 3.4 million barrels per day (bpd).
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the weekly cabinet session, the minister said the country’s oil output amounted to 2.2m bpd when the incumbent administration took office two years ago, according to Shana.
The figure has now soared to 3.4m bpd thanks to the Oil Ministry’s measures over the past 24 months, he mentioned.
Given the ministry’s plans and investments in onshore and offshore fields, domestic oil output will hopefully increase, Owji added.
Statistics showed a 19.8 percent economic growth for the oil and gas industry in the spring of 2023, recalled the minister, harboring hope that the upward trend will continue.
Rise in OPEC output
OPEC oil output has risen for a third straight month in October, a Reuters survey found on Tuesday, led by increases in Nigeria and Angola and despite ongoing cuts by Saudi Arabia and other members of the wider OPEC+ alliance to support the market.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has pumped 27.9 million barrels per day (bpd), the survey found, up by 180,000 bpd from September. Production in August had risen for the first time since February.
The steady rise in OPEC output is largely being driven by a small number of producers managing to overcome internal or external factors that have curbed supply.
Nigeria boosted exports in October without any major disruption to shipments, according to shipping data and sources in the survey, increasing output by 50,000 bpd. The country is targeting a further recovery by next year. Angola also boosted exports in October, the survey found.
Highest production of Iran
Smaller increases came from Iraq and Iran. Tehran’s output edged up to 3.17 million bpd, the survey found. This is the highest since 2018, the year Washington re-imposed sanctions on Iran, according to Reuters’ surveys and OPEC figures. Analysts have said the higher Iranian exports appear to be the result of Iran’s success in evading US sanctions.
There was no immediate boost in Venezuela’s production, sources in the survey said. OPEC+ sources expect the production recovery to be gradual. Output from the 10 OPEC members that are subject to OPEC+ supply cut agreements rose by 150,000 bpd, the survey found. Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf members maintained strong compliance with agreed cutbacks and extra voluntary reductions.
Saudi Arabia kept the October and September output close to nine million bpd, the survey found. The country in September extended a voluntary one million bpd output cut until the end of the year to provide extra support for the market.