Iran is moving ahead with plans to boost crude output at its giant Azadegan oil field to 170,000 barrels a day, the Iranian oil ministry's official Shana news Web site reported Saturday.
National Iranian South Oil Co., or Nisoc, has begun implementing the field's production plan and has the capacity to complete it ahead of schedule, said managing director Mohammad Reza Hassan Bigloo, according to Shana.
The project's first phase will see production reach 50,000 barrels a day of oil, Shana quoted Bigloo as saying without providing a timeframe for the expansion plans.
Azadegan's production capacity presently stands at 15,000-20,000 barrels a day, Bigloo said, Shana reported.
Bigloo added that oil produced at Azadegan will be transferred to Ahwaz through a 10-inch pipeline, Shana reported.
Iran is currently the world's fourth largest oil producer.