Iran on Wednesday rebuffed doubts over its ability to increase its crude production capacity by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) after the removal of sanctions as per a nuclear deal with the P5+1 group of countries.

Bijan Zangeneh, Iran’s oil minister, told reporters that Iran’s projected oil output increase in a post-sanctions era will be even higher. 

Zangeneh emphasized that Iran is ready to show its might to the world and the capabilities it has acquired over the oil industry by surging its crude production capacity.  

He made the remarks after he inaugurated three projects in the southwestern oil-rich province of Khouzestan that he said have already increased Iran’s crude production capacity by 150,000 bpd.

The projects were three new desalination units at Mansouri, Lab-e Sefid and Masjed Soleyman oil fields.  Officials say they have processing capacities of 75,000 bpd, 30,000 bpd and 55,000 bpd, respectively.

Most of the proceedings over the projects have been carried out by domestic experts, Mehr news agency reported. 

“The three projects took eight years to finish,” Zangeneh told reporters.

He said the sanctions are to blame for the delay in the projects that could have been carried out in less than two years.

“However, all the blame for this should not go to only the sanctions,” the minister added.   

Iran’s overall oil production is currently believed to stand at 2.8 million bpd.  Zangeneh said in September that Iran has serious plans to increase this to as high as 4.2 million bpd before the end of 2016. 

A series of draconian sanctions engineered by the US prohibit foreign investments in Iran’s oil industry. They are expected to be lifted in the near future in line with a nuclear deal that was reached between Iran and the P5+1 – the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany – in Vienna back in July. 

Based on the deal, Iran will suspend certain aspects of its nuclear energy activities in return for the removal of certain economic sanctions including those on investments in its oil industry.