Iran started producing oil from Hengam oilfield, associated with Oman in the Persian Gulf, the Iranian Offshore Oil Company's managing director said.
The Mehr News Agency quoted Mahmoud Zirakchianzade as saying that the country began on Saturday producing 4,500 barrels of crude oil per day from the oilfield.
"Once the field's second development phase comes on stream, the daily production capacity would be raised up to 25,000 barrels," he added.
He went on to note that the National Iranian Oil Company plans to carry out the field's second and third development phases by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2011).
Oman started tapping the joint oilfield in March 2009 with extracting some 10,000 barrels of crude oil a day.
Hengam oilfield was discovered in 1975. It holds over 700 million barrels of in-situ crude oil and some 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.