TEHRAN, Dec. 05 (Shana) � Iran is poised to increase its crude oil output "immediately" to the promised 500,000 bpd after the removal of draconian western sanctions, a senior Iranian oil official said.

Head of National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) Bijan Alipour told Shana that after the boost the company will prepare for the second boost in Iran's output which will add another 500,000 bpd to the country's output.

NISOC is Iran's biggest crude oil producer which accounts for 83% of Iran's crude output and 16% of the country's natural gas production.

"The company has levelled all the necessary preparations for the boost and there will be no concerns for the 500k bpd raise after the sanctions removal," he said.
"After the mandatory drop in the country's output imposed by the draconian sanctions, NISOC has maintained production, refining and maintenance of its facilities in order to keep its output intact," he added.

He said during the years 2014 and 2015 the company has undertaken more than 14,000 downhole projects, 550 procedural revisions, and 2,800 refinery overhauls to keep its production capacity unchanged.

Alipour has said all plans have been devised to boost production from oil-rich regions south of Iran.

As he said, once the company receives instructions from the ministry of petroleum, it can reach the pre-sanctions production level within a "three-day period."

"NISOC faces no limits in supplying crude oil for exports to world markets and providing feedstock to petrochemical plants and refineries of the country," said the official.

By SHANA