Iran has started negotiations with European and Asian companies for crude sails while ramping up its oil production, said Deputy Oil Minister Amir Hossein Zamaninia.
Tehran had been discussing energy projects, including upstream projects and oil purchases, over the past several weeks with European and Asian companies, Zamaninia told reporters on the sidelines of an oil conference in Tehran.
Zamaninia, who is also Iran’s OPEC governor, further said that the country expects to reach pre-sanctions levels in oil production in one to two months.
The oil market will be able to accommodate Iran’s maximum oil output of around 3.9 million to 4 million barrels a day, Zamaninia said. He declined He declined to specify the current level of Iran’s oil exports, but said the numbers were “much better than many assume.”
Iran has been subject to tough U.S. sanctions since 2018, when the administration of then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from an international deal that restricted the Middle Eastern country’s nuclear activities.
Under the U.S. sanctions, Iranian oil exports have dropped to just a few hundred thousand barrels a day, causing significant economic distress for the country.
President Joe Biden, who took office this week, is expected to seek the restoration of that accord and officials in Tehran have expressed the hope he will ease restrictions on its petroleum sales.
Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said in December that the government sought to double oil production and increase exports to 2.3 million barrels a day.