Iran will return to the level of oil production it had before 2012 if sanctions are lifted against its economy, the country’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh told the Opec conference in Vienna on 3 June.

Zangeneh forecast that Iran would boost production by an additional 500,000 barrels a day (b/d) within a month of sanctions being lifted, and 1 million b/d within six months.

The minister expects Opec to adjust the group’s production to allow for the return of Iran, which was the 12-member oil producers’ group’s second largest exporter before new sanctions were introduced in 2012.

In the longer term, Iran plans to develop a new framework for oil field development contracts to make the country more attractive for international oil companies (IOCs).

Iran and the P5+1 world powers are aiming to reach an agreement by 30 June to limit Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for relief from sanctions against its oil and banking sectors.

Representatives from Opec’s member countries are meeting in Vienna to negotiate the group’s quote for oil production, which is currently set at 30 million b/d.

Upon arrival in the Austrian capital, Zangeneh told Iran’s Press TV that he wanted an “appropriate decision” by Opec to curb oversupply in the global crude market.

“It’s very clear that we have oversupply in the market and this oversupply puts pressure on the price,” Zangeneh was reported as saying. “And now it’s our responsibility to review this situation and to take an appropriate decision for balancing the market, but it depends on a consensus among all Opec members.

Opec is widely expected to maintain its current production quota, as its largest producer Saudi Arabia maintains that its strategy has been successful.

Iran is one of the exporters that have called for a decision to lower the quota to prop up prices, but Tehran’s current level of exports give it relatively little influence on Opec’s decision-making.