We decide oil export levels ourselves, Iran says

TEHRAN, May 9 (UPI) -- Iran will decide for itself how much oil it exports and strives to reach the highest levels possible, Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said.

Iran secured relief from some economic sanctions in exchange for curbing its nuclear research activity under the terms of a November agreement reached with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- the United States, Russia, China, France and Great Britain -- plus Germany.

The oil minister said Iran would work to export as much oil as possible, despite a limit of 1 million barrels per day imposed under the November arrangement.

"Iran will not accept any numbers and figures regarding the volume of its crude oil export that are dictated from elsewhere," he said Thursday.

Iran in January and February reported export levels above the 1 million bpd mark, the International Energy Agency reported.

"We decide on the volume of oil exports by ourselves," the minister said.

Iran is the fourth-largest crude oil producer among members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. In its latest monthly market report, OPEC said Iran produced 2.78 million bpd in March, up about 0.6 percent from the previous month.