TEHRAN – British Petroleum, in its latest global energy report dubbed “Statistical Review of World Energy” has said Iran’s oil production increased by 16.1 percent or 540,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2021 despite the U.S. sanctions.

According to the mentioned report, the Islamic Republic’s crude oil production reached 3.17 million bpd last year, from 2.73 million bpd in 2020.

The 16-percent increase in Iran's oil production has been realized while the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) member countries managed to increase their production by a total of 2.6 percent last year.

The Islamic Republic registered the second-highest increase in oil production among the world’s oil-producing countries in the said year, accounting for 4.1 percent of the world’s total output.

Iranian authorities had previously announced the significant increase in Iran's oil production and exports last year.

This report shows that in 2021, 77.83 million bpd of oil was produced in the world, 1.4 percent more than the figure for 2020.

Last year, oil consumption also increased by 5.3 million bpd, however, it remained 3.7 million bpd less than the 2019 level and was still significantly lower than the pre-pandemic levels.

EF/MA