Iran poised to increase oil exports if sanctions eased: state media

In light of prospects of the U.S. easing sanctions on Iran after President-elect Joe Biden takes office, state media reported on Sunday Iran has instructed its oil ministry to increase production and sale of crude oil at full capacity in three months.

The state media quoted Iran President Hassan Rouhani as saying that Iran exported more than two million barrels a day before U.S. President Donald Trump exited the 2015 nuclear deal with six powers in 2018 and reimposed sanctions that have hit Iran’s economy hard by sharply cutting its vital oil exports.

Set to take office on January 20, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has said that he would return to the agreement and would lift sanctions if Iran reverted to “strict compliance with the nuclear deal”.

The local news agency of Iran reported that Rouhani said on Sunday that his country was preparing for a rapid increase of its oil production.

Approximately, Iran exports less than 300,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), compared to a peak of 2.8 million bpd in 2018.