Iran raised crude production from its offshore oilfields to a record 723,000 barrels per day in the year to March, an Iranian oil official said on Sunday.
Gholam-Abbas Jokar, a director at the National Iranian Offshore Oil Co, said a previous high of 716,000 bpd was hit four years ago but output had fallen somewhat since, the Oil Ministry's news Web site SHANA reported.
Iran is the world's fourth-largest oil producer but analysts say it needs major foreign investment and expertise to substantially expand oil output capacity. Iran's total oil output was about 3.9 million bpd in February, according to a Reuters survey.
Industry experts say sanctions imposed for years by the United States, Iran's long-time foe, and UN sanctions slapped on the country in a dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, are deterring foreign investors. But experts also say that Iran's windfall earnings as oil prices surge to near record levels have helped it keep production capacity steady using its own resources.
A senior Iranian oil official said last May that the country needed at least $100 billion of foreign investment over the next decade to boost output by 1 million bpd to a target of 5 million bpd.
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