The Islamic Republic of Iran will increase its crude output to 4mb/d by mid-March 2017, according to the Iranian National Oil Company’s (NIOC) Head, Ali Kardor, Hellenic Shipping News informed.

However, Iran had previously agreed with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that Tehran would not exceed the level of 3.79mb/d, Azeri News Agency reported.

Kardor expressed a confidence that by the end of 2017 oil exports will reach 3mb/d. The official additionally noted that in December 2016 Iran had reached a record volume of oil exports to Europe at 0.9mb/d.

In late November 2016, OPEC members decided to cut the oil production to 32.5mb/d. It was announced, that in the first half of 2017, the members of OPEC would reduce the average of production by nearly 1.2mb/d. Nonetheless, OPEC made an exception for Iran, as the country had recently come out of international sanctions. OPEC thus allowed Iran to increase the production by 90,000b/d, up to 3.797mb/d.