"At present, 4mln barrels of oil and 600mln c/m of gas are being produced in the country every day," Qassemi said, stressing that the amount should increase to 5.2mln barrels of oil and 1bln c/m of gas by the end of the country's fifth five-year development plan (for 2010 to 2015).
He stressed Iran's huge oil and gas reserves, and said, "Having 12% of the world's oil (reserves) and 17% of the world's gas reserves, Iran has turned into the largest owner of the world's hydrocarbon reserves."
Qassemi's remarks countered the reports released by the western media alleging that they expect Iranian production to fall by about 850,000 bpd by the end of this year to 2.7 million bpd, and fall by another 200,000 bpd in 2013.
Qassemi's remarks also showed inefficiency of the western sanctions on Iran's oil industry. The European Union banned imports of Iranian oil starting July 1.
Iranian officials have dismissed US sanctions as inefficient, saying that they are finding Asian partners instead. Several Chinese and other Asian firms are negotiating or signing up to oil and gas deals.
Iran sits on the world's second largest reserves of both oil and gas and it gains its major revenues from exporting it crude oil.
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Iran is now producing 4 million barrels of oil every day, Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi announced Sunday, adding that the country's gas production capacity has also risen to 600 million cubic meters a day.
News ID 183531
