Iran has plans to raise its crude oil production capacity by three million barrels per day (mbd), said a top official of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) on Monday.

The move is aimed at promoting and stabilizing the country’s footing in Opec and the global market, Gholamreza Manouchehri, deputy head for engineering and development affairs, was quoted as saying in an Iran Daily report, which cited Shana.

NIOC has signed 24 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with domestic and international companies to develop oil and gas projects in Iran since January 2016, he added, speaking on the sidelines of the 22nd Iran International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition in Tehran.

NIOC signed an MoU with the Philippines’ PNOC EC for conduct studies on Iran’s Pazanan and phase 3 of Darkhowin oilfields.

Manouchehri revealed that NIOC is mulling contracts valued at $80 billion with domestic and international contractors over the next two years.

Meanwhile, Deputy Oil Minister Abbas Kazemi said that Iran’s oil products export has reached 450,000 bpd, noting that the major products included mazut, gas oil, kerosene, and LPG.

He added once current gasoline production projects go on stream, the country’s gasoline output will increase by 16 million litres per day.

Regarding the share of indigenous equipment in the country’s oil industry, Kazemi said currently 60 per cent of them are Iranian-made. “Also 70 to 80 per cent of refinery catalysts are produced domestically.”

In November 2016, France’s Total became the first oil major to sign a big deal with Tehran since the lifting of sanctions and agreed to help it develop the world’s largest gas field, South Pars.

Shell signed a provisional deal in December to develop Iranian oil and gas fields South Azadegan, Yadavaran and Kish in December 2016.

Iran has named 29 companies from more than a dozen countries as being allowed to bid for oil and gas projects using the new, less restrictive contract model.

The firms include Shell, France’s Total, Italy’s Eni, Malaysia’s Petronas and Russia’s Gazprom and Lukoil, as well as companies from China, Austria, Japan and other countries.