DUBAI- The development of Iran's largest oilfield, Azadegan, is to be completed by mid-2023 with a total production of 320,000 barrels per day (bpd), the Iranian Oil Ministry said on Tuesday.

The report came as indirect talks between Iran and the United States on salvaging the 2015 Iran nuclear deal resumed on Monday with Tehran focused on lifting sanctions to allow it to sell oil without hindrance and collect its revenue. 

"With the completion of the development project of this field, #crude_oil production will reach 320,000 barrels per day from the field," said Mohsen Khojastehmehr, CEO of the National Iranian Oil Co. (NIOC), according to the ministry's Twitter account.

In July 2020, a unit of state-run NIOC signed a deal with the local company Petropars to raise output capacity to 320,000 bpd from 140,000 bpd within 30 months at the Azadegan field, Iran's largest, which is shared with its neighbour Iraq, according to state media.

The United States under Donald Trump's presidency withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, slashing Iran's vital crude oil exports and chasing away foreign energy companies from potential Iranian oil projects.

 

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Kirsten Donovan) ((dubai.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com;))