Addressing a press conference here in Tehran on Sunday, the official said Iran's crude exports have also increased by 60,000 b/d in the period year-on-year.
The country has ramped up its crude oil output and export by at least a million barrels per day in the post-JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) ) setting, the official said.
Mr. Zangeneh further added that crude oil production in West Karoon Play has reached 305,000 b/d in the month of Dey (10th month in Iranian calendar, December 22--January 20) from 165,000 b/d last year.
"Production of oil from joint oilfield is a priority [for Iran] and oil recovery from South Yaran, Azar, and the oil layer of South Pars has reached 63,000 b/d," the official added.
He also said that Iran's production of gas from South Pars, a supergiant gas field the country shares with Qatar in Persian Gulf waters, has grown from 285.9 mcm/d in 2012 to 553 mcm/d in the current calendar year.
5 South Pars Phases online Next Year
The official further said that next [calendar] year, five phases, including Phase 13, Phases 22-24 and half of Phase 14 will be inaugurated.
By the end of the month of Dey, 92% of the total population and 76% of the rural population were covered by the gas supply network in Iran, he added.
"With the delivery of more gas to power plants, this year, despite the increase in annual fuel consumption of power plants, the amount of liquid fuel consumed by them is below 10%," he added.
Iran Gasline Ready to send gas to Iraq
"Speaking of gas export, our export line is ready to send gas to Iraq's Basra and also Naftshahr," he added. "However, in the Basra pipeline, the Iraqi side is still not ready. Despite the cold, we have nearly 13 million cubic meters of gas at our disposal for export to Iraq."
No hassles in South Pars 11 Deal with Total
The official insisted that the development project of South Pars 11 is being executed with the consortium of France's Total, China's CNPCI and Petropars of Iran as planned.
Total must construct a platform to boost pressure in the second phase of the project, he added, saying the country will need an investment of about 28 billion dollars for launching such platforms for each phase of the gas field.
Natural Gas and Petrochemical Sectors
The official also touched on the petrochemical sector saying Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will inaugurate a number of petrochemical proejcts valued at $2 billion next year.
The domestic demand for petrochemical feedstock is projected to grow by 17% next year, he added.
"Iran's petrol output has increased by 16.5 million liters/day compared to last year, mostly from the Bandar Abbas Gas Condensate Refinery; the distillation unit of the plant is about to come on-stream, and we hope that all 3 units of the facility come online next year."
"Iran has incurred huge expenses building its share of the Iran-Pakistan gasline, but the other side has not fulfilled its contractual obligations so far, so we have to enter the legal follow-up phase, but all dimensions of the matter must be taken into account," said Zangeneh.
Turkmenistan cut its gas exports to Iran last winter, but there has not been a major problem in this regard, he said.
Turkmenistan has already filed a case against Iran. "We believe that they have also inflicted losses on us that we are pursuing".
Crude Oil Market and OPEC
"OPEC's measures to push up the prices is short-lived, and the issue of increasing production capacity is a long-term issue. Any country that builds capacity for oil production will ultimately be the winner."
Regarding extension of the OPEC output cut agreement, one should wait until the June meeting of the organization.
"In case OPEC does no extend the agreement, Iran will be able to increase its oil exports from the West Karoon Plays immediately."
"In order to respect fellow OPEC members, Iran has so far honored the accord and has not increased its exports."