BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 8. Iran’s crude oil production has increased by 600,000 barrels per day during the current government's term (which has been power since August 2021), Iranian Deputy Oil Minister and the CEO of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Mohsen Khojasteh Mehr told reporters on May 8, Trend reports citing IRNA.
The deputy minister noted that increasing crude oil production is one of the priorities of the National Iranian Oil Company. Taking into account the existing oil fields and reserves in the country, if it is possible to increase the production rate by just 1 percent, Iran's crude oil production can be increased to 8 million barrels per day.
Khojasteh Mehr added that currently, serious steps are being taken to increase the production from low-yield wells. In this regard, 6 contracts were signed in the last Iranian year (March 21, 2022 through March 20, 2023).
According to OPEC's report, Iran produced an average of 2,567,000 barrels of crude oil per day in March, 2023. This is a decrease of 8 percent compared to February, 2023. Meanwhile, Iranian official statistics say the country has been producing over 3 million barrels a day from August 2021 to this day.
There are currently 74 active oil and 22 active gas fields in Iran. So, 37 oil fields are operating in the territory of the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC), 14 fields – Iranian Central Oil Fields Company (ICOFC), 5 fields – Arvandan Oil and Gas Company (AOGC), and 18 oil fields – Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC).
In addition, 5 gas fields are operating in the territory of the NISOC, 13 fields – the ICOFC, 1 field – Pars Oil and Gas Company (POGC), and 3 gas fields – the IOOC.
Iran’s total hydrocarbon reserves are estimated at 1.2 trillion barrels. With available technology and equipment, Iran can extract 340 billion barrels. Thus, 30 percent of the country's hydrocarbon reserves are recoverable, while 70 percent remain underground.
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