TEHRAN- Iran’s crude oil production increased 17,000 barrels per day (bpd) in February to reach 2.554 million bpd, according to OPEC’s latest monthly report.

As reported, Iranian heavy crude oil price also increased by $0.32 in the mentioned month to stand at $81.88 per barrel.

According to the report, the country’s average heavy crude price was $81.72 from the beginning of 2023 up to the report’s publishing day, in comparison to $89.22 in the previous year’s same period.

OPEC Basket prices also rose by $0.26 to $81.88 a barrel in February.

Based on OPEC data, the country’s average crude output in the fourth quarter of 2022 stood at 2.567 million barrels per day indicating a 2,000-bpd rise compared to the figure for the third quarter of the year.

Iran’s oil production in 2022 increased by seven percent compared to the previous year, according to OPEC’s first monthly report released in 2023.

Based on the OPEC data, the Islamic Republic produced 2.554 million bpd of crude oil in 2022, 162,000 bpd more than the figure for 2021, when the output stood at 2.392 million bpd.

Citing secondary sources, the report put Iranian crude output for December 2022 at 2.574 million bpd indicating a 9,000-bpd increase compared to the figure for November.

The country’s heavy crude oil price also increased by $30.12 in 2022 to register a 43-percent rise compared to the previous year, according to OPEC.

Iran sold its heavy crude oil at $99.92 per barrel on average in the mentioned year, compared to 2021 when the average price was $69.8 per barrel.

In the last month of 2022, the average price of Iranian heavy oil was reported to be $79.11, which has decreased by $9.62 compared to the previous month.

Iran has been ramping up its oil production and exports over the past year as the country has been implementing new strategies to overcome U.S. sanctions.

A recent report by Reuters stated that Iran’s oil exports have reached new highs in the last two months of 2022 and are making a strong start to 2023 despite U.S. sanctions.

According to ship tracking data, the Islamic Republic’s oil exports have risen mostly due to the higher shipments to China and Venezuela.

EF/MA