Iran to launch new oil projects, sees post-sanctions supply boost

Iran will introduce more than 50 exploration and production projects to investors in the near future, the country’s chief negotiator for new oil contracts said on Tuesday.

Seyed Mehdi Hosseini, head of Iran’s Oil Contracts Restructuring Committee, told the Oil & Money conference in London the contracts would be introduced in Iran this year and at a conference in the British capital in February 2016.

Iran is keen to recover the oil market share it lost as a result of international sanctions imposed over its nuclear program. These are due to be lifted following a deal in July with world powers to curb the nuclear program and Iran says it could boost supplies quickly.

“Immediately after sanctions are lifted, maybe we within some months we can add at least 500,000 barrels per day (bpd). It does not take that long,” Hosseini told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.

“After that we are targeting another 1 million. Maybe in less than a year we can come to our pre-sanction capacity of around 4 million bpd.”

Other estimates of the pace at which Iranian output will rise are more modest, but extra supply from Iran could add to rivalries within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries next year.