"Oil production will reach 4.05 million bpd this year and total gas output will reach 1.1 bcm/d," Ali Kardor, the chief executive of National Iranian Oil Company said.
"Crude oil production will hit the 4 million bpd mark in the next few days. Based on current upstream development projects, we do not have the capacity in the present year to increase total oil output by more than 50,000 bpd, which will be coming from the South Azadegan Oilfield," Kardor noted.
Kardor acknowledged that NIOC is facing a difficult task keeping up production at operational fields.
"Each year, we lose roughly 300,000 bpd in daily production capacity," the official said. "The regression takes place largely due to the decline in the recovery rate of aging oilfields and a lack of technology and machinery to boost extraction."
"Oil output will increase by 350,000 bpd this year, which will offset the 300,000 bpd loss in production," Kardor added.
The NIOC chief said gas production will reach a record high of 1.1 bcm/d this year on the back of bigger supplies from South Pars, the world's largest gas field shared with Qatar in the Persian Gulf.
Kardor anticipated that in fiscal 2018-19, between 25 mcm/d and 30 mcm/d will be added to gas production. Iran holds the world's second largest crude oil reserves and the fourth-biggest gas reserves.
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