TEHRAN- Iran’s oil production increased by 50,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April from March, the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced in its latest monthly report.

According to the IEA’s released data, Iran produced 3.3 million bpd of oil in April, while the figure was 3.250 million bpd in March.

Based on the IEA data, Iran’s oil production is now only 300,000 bpd less than the figure in 2018, when the U.S. imposed sanctions on the country’s oil industry.

In late April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also released a report that said Iran's oil production in 2023 saw an increase of 500,000 bpd in comparison to the previous year, reaching 3.1 million bpd.

According to the IMF data, the oil sector of Iran's economy recorded a noteworthy growth of 15 percent in 2023. Over the three years of President Ebrahim Raisi’s tenure, this sector experienced a double-digit growth; therefore, the oil sector saw 10.1 percent, 10 percent, and 15 percent growth respectively in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

It is predicted that Iran's oil production will increase by another 100,000 bpd, reaching 3.2 million bpd in 2024.

Iran's gas production also increased from the equivalent of 4.8 million barrels of oil per day in 2022 to the equivalent of 5.1 million bpd in 2023. According to IMF, the figure is expected to rise by 300,000 bpd to reach the equivalent of 5.4 million bpd in 2024.

Iran exported 1.4 million barrels of oil per day in 2023, indicating an increase of 500,000 barrels compared to its oil export data in the previous year, and it is expected that in the current year, an additional 100,000 barrels would be added to Iran's oil exports, reaching 1.5 million bpd.

Iran exported gas in 2023 the equivalent of 300,000 barrels of oil per day and it is expected that the figure will remain the same in 2024.

Earlier this month Financial Times reported that Iran is exporting more oil than at any time for the past six years, giving its economy a $35bn-a-year boost.

Tehran sold an average of 1.56 million barrels a day during the first three months of the year, almost all of it to China and its highest level since the third quarter of 2018, according to data company Vortexa.

Iran’s success in exporting its crude underscores the difficulties facing the U.S. and the EU as they seek to build up pressure on Tehran.

“The Iranians have mastered the art of sanctions circumvention,” said Fernando Ferreira, head of the geopolitical risk service at the Rapidan Energy Group in the U.S.

Iran’s Oil Minister Javad Oji said last month that oil exports had generated more than $35 billion in the preceding year. On another occasion, he said that while Iran’s enemies wanted to stop its exports, “today, we can export oil anywhere we want, and with minimal discounts”.