Iran is determined to develop its oil industry in spite of U.S. sanctions imposed on the country, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said in a televised speech on July 11.

"We will not surrender under any circumstances ... We have to increase our capacity so that when necessary with full strength we can enter the market and revive our market share," said Zanganeh.

The minister was speaking before the signing of a $294 million contract between the National Iranian Oil Co. and Persia Oil & Gas, an Iranian firm, to develop the Yaran oil field that is shared with neighboring Iraq's Majnoon Field.

The agreement aims to produce 39.5 million barrels of oil from the Yaran oil field in Khuzestan province in southwestern Iran, the Iranian Oil Ministry's news agency SHANA said.

Hit by reimposed U.S. sanctions since Washington exited Iran's 2015 nuclear deal in 2018, Iran's oil exports are estimated at 100,000 to 200,000 bbl/d, down from more than 2.5 million bbl/d that Iran shipped in April 2018.

The Islamic Republic's crude production has halved to around 2 million bbl/d.