An oil tanker loading near an Iranian terminal in the Persian Gulf. March 2022
Iran increased oil production and sold at a higher price in February, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) announced Tuesday.
In its Monthly Oil Market Report, Opec put the price of Iranian crude sold in February at $93 a barrel, a 9 percent increase on January and a 62 percent increase on the 2021 average of $57.52.
Iran has been steadily increasing oil exports since late 2020 despite US sanctions that officially have remained in place but not enforced sufficiently.
Opec said Iran’s crude production in February rose by 44,000 barrels a day (bpd) from January to 2.546 million barrels, albeit a lower increase than for Saudi Arabia and Libya, whose increased output respectively of 141,000 and 105,000 barrels accounted for most of a rise across Opec countries.
The Opec report put Iran’s average 2021 production at 2.405 million bpd, an increase from 2 million in 2020, but still lower than the 3.8 million before the US imposed ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions in 2018, which threatened punitive action against third parties buying Iranian crude and slashed Iran’s exports.
Oil Minister Javad Owji said earlier this month that output could reach a maximum level within two months of agreement to revive the 2015 nuclear deal and ease US sanctions. Iran has already over 100 million barrels in storage ready to meet demand for its exports.