Iran expects its oil production to rise to 3.6 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of the current Iranian year in March 2024, from around 3.3 million bpd now, Iran’s Oil Minister Javad Owji has said.

The minister talked about Iranian oil production during a visit by Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi to the headquarters of the Ministry of Oil, Iranian media reported.

Iran has recently signed six contracts for the development of oil and gas fields in the past months, including deals to develop joint fields in the west of Karun, such as Azadegan and Yaran. The total value of the contracts is $14.5 billion, according to the minister.

Earlier this month, Owji said that Iran’s oil production has jumped by 50% percent since the current administration came into office two years ago.

Iran’s oil production was 2.2 million bpd in August 2021 and has now increased to 3.3 million bpd. Output is further set to rise to 3.6 million bpd by the end of this winter.

This summer, Iran’s oil production and exports were estimated to have soared to the highest level since the U.S. sanctions were imposed in 2018.

Some analysts have attributed Iran’s higher oil sales abroad despite the current sanctions to the U.S. not looking to clamp down too much on the exports as it looks to keep oil markets well supplied.

However, Iranian exports could come under pressure as the United States signaled earlier this month that it would tighten the sanctions on Iran’s oil industry.

The U.S. will tighten sanctions on Iran’s oil industry amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, aiming to bring exports down by more than 1 million bpd, White House energy security adviser Amos Hochstein told Bloomberg.

“We are going to enforce those sanctions,” Hochstein said. “Those numbers will come down.”