Iran Targets 4 mbpd Crude Oil Output by March 2018

"Iran's oil output will reach 4 million barrels per day by the yearend from more than 3.8 million barrels now," Zanganeh was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency on Saturday.

The higher output target coincides with the end of an accord between OPEC and producers to slash crude output to end a global glut and lift prices which are trading at more than half of their peak levels since 2014.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and 11 non-members, including Russia, reached a rare agreement last year to scale back production by 1.8 million barrels a day and extended the deal up until next March, according to Financial Tribune.

According to Zanganeh, Iran aims to raise crude production capacity to 4.7 million barrels a day by 2021, a target, he says, does not complicate OPEC's short-term decisions.

Under the current OPEC deal, Iran is allowed to pump an average of 3.8 million barrels a day over the next nine months. It is the third-largest OPEC producer behind Saudi Arabia, the world's top exporter, and its western Arab neighbor Iraq.