TEHRAN – Iran’s crude oil production in January reached 2.503 million barrels per day (bpd), registering a 21-percent increase compared to the figure for December 2021, according to OPEC’s latest monthly report.

Iran produced 2.482 million bpd of crude oil in December 2021, the report said citing secondary sources.

The Islamic Republic’s average crude output for the fourth quarter of 2021 stood at 2.480 million bpd indicating a 40,000-bpd increase compared to the figure for the first quarter of the year, the report indicated.

OPEC put the average Iranian crude output for 2021 at 2.405 million bpd, while the average output in 2020 was 1.988 million bpd.

These statistics show that although with the re-imposition of the U.S. sanctions, Iran's oil production decreased; gradually the country has been able to compensate for part of the output decline.

The country’s heavy crude oil price also increased $10.91 in January, to register a 14.6 percent rise compared to the previous month, according to the OPEC report.

Iran sold its heavy crude oil at $85.59 per barrel in the mentioned month, compared to December’s $74.68 per barrel.

Based on the OPEC data, the country’s average heavy crude price was $54.38 in 2021.

In addition to the devastating impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the global oil industry which resulted in the drastic fall in oil production and prices, the Iranian oil industry was under pressure from the U.S. efforts to isolate the country by re-imposing sanctions in 2021.

Iran has been ramping up its oil production over the past few months following the recovery of the global markets from the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and the developments in Vienna talks.

Back in February 2021, Fitch Solutions Incorporation, a subsidiary of Fitch Ratings, which is one of the U.S.’s three biggest credit rating agencies, saw the Islamic Republic’s crude oil exports double in 2022 compared to 2020.

“The prospects for the Iranian oil sector have brightened significantly following Joe Biden's victory in the U.S. presidential election on November 3, 2020. President Biden has indicated that he will seek to re-enter the U.S. into the Iranian nuclear deal, paving the way for a roll-back of secondary sanctions and recovery of around 2.0 million bpd in oil production,” the report said.

EF/MA