TEHRAN – Iranian Petroleum Minister Javad Owji said Wednesday that Iran recorded a 20% increase in oil and gas production last year of 1402 (March 21, 2023-2024) in the Iranian calendar, predicting a higher production this year.
Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting Owji said that “We made a great investment in the Iranian year of 1402 in upstream and downstream sectors and we completed semi-finished projects worth $28 billion.” 
The oil minister added that, “Last year, oil and gas production growth was more than 20%.”
He also said that oil-related products and petrochemicals also witnessed growth, too.
Owji further noted, in order to have an increase in production this year of 1403 in the Iranian calendar (beginning on March 21), “We have planned new investments and also for increasing production by finishing remaining uncompleted projects.”
He also emphasized that, “We will try to set a new record [in production growth] this year that is even higher than last year’s 20%.”
Crude Oil Output Tops 3.25mn bpd in March
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced in its latest report that Iran produced 3.25 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) in March 2024, showing a hike compared to a month earlier.
According to the report, Iran had produced 3.230 million bpd in February 2024.
Iran has produced an average of 3.230 million barrels of oil per day in the first quarter of the current year (January to March).
With an increase of 630,000 barrels in oil production over the past year, Iran had the highest production rise among OPEC members, according to EIA.
Gabon, Nigeria, and Venezuela have been the only other OPEC members to increase production over the past year. The production of Gabon increased by 10,000 bpd, Nigeria by 40,000 bpd, and Venezuela by 90,000 bpd.
Based on the EIA report, Iran maintained its position as the organization’s third oil producer in March.