Iran says daily oil output to hit 3.5M barrels in September - Al-Monitor

Iran says daily oil output to hit 3.5M barrels in September - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East

Iran will soon produce 3.5 million barrels of oil per day, according to the chief executive of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), adding to global supply while other crude producers are limiting output.

NIOC CEO Mohsen Khojastehmehr said that Iran was producing 2.2 million bpd when the current administration took office in 2021 and will reach 3.5 million bpd by the end of the Iranian month of Shahrivar (Sep. 22), the state-owned Tasnim News Agency reported Wednesday.

Khojastehmehr added that Iran’s oil output from onshore and offshore fields, a figure he did not share, will increase by 150,000 bpd within the next two weeks.

He went on to say that 100,000 bpd will also be added to the current volume by Sept. 22, 2023, bringing the country’s oil output to 3.5 million bpd by the end of the summer.

In June, Iran’s crude exports and oil output hit new highs despite US sanctions, Reuters reported.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude producer, announced on Aug. 3 that it would extend its 1 million bpd oil cut into August and may deepen it in the future to support "stability and balance and oil markets," the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported. Riyadh first made the voluntary cut in July and it was extended.

The kingdom’s production for September will be around 9 million bpd, SPA said.

Saudi Arabia is a prominent member of the influential Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the cartel agreed to limit supply into 2024 at the group’s last policy meeting in June.

OPEC+, which compromises the 10 OPEC members and 13 other countries, is meeting on Friday. The group, which pumps around 40% of the world’s crude oil, is unlikely to change oil policy during that meeting, analysts believe.