Crude production from Iran’s South Azadegan oilfield will rise to over 140,000 barrels per day (b/d) by the end of March 2018, an Iranian official told Shana.

The field currently produces 80,000 b/d.

The increase will be the result of two development phases, the Managing Director of Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC), Noureddin Shahnazizadeh, told the Iranian news agency. Phase one will increase production by 25,000 b/d and phase two will increase it by an additional 40,000 b/d.

This is not the first time that Iran has predicted higher output from the South Azadegan field.

In April, the field’s operator predicted that production would reach 110,000 b/d by June 2017, Shana reported at the time. Production hit 80,000 b/d in April after having previously hovering around 50,000 b/d for a number of years.

The field is located in southern Iran close to the Iraqi border.