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Iran, fresh from an OPEC meeting where it won significant concessions from regional rival Saudi Arabia, accelerated the rejuvenation of its sanctions-ravaged energy industry on Tuesday when the state producer signed a new-model oil investment contract.

National Iranian Oil Co. agreed to the framework of a $2.2 billion dealwith Persia Oil & Gas Industry Development Co. to boost output at three fields along the countrys western border with Iraq,Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said during a ceremony at the ministry. A second contract will be signed with a local company on Wednesday, Tasnim news agency reported, without giving details. Zanganeh has said the new type of contract, designed to better reward investment in crude and natural gas production, is crucial to increasing the countrys long-term export potential.

Although it may take years for new investment deals to bear fruit, Tuesdays signing caps a good few days for Zanganeh, who returned from last weeks OPEC meeting in Algiers having secured Irans right to pump more oil even as Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies agreed to curb output. President Hassan Rouhanis government has argued that it should be allowed to return production to levels achieved before international sanctions curbed shipments.

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Iranians feel that theyve missed out on a big, big party because of sanctions, Francisco Blanch,head of commodities research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in an interview. Sanctions basically took a lot of production out at a time when oil prices were very, very high. Iran doesnt really have to cut production, and its going to get a higher price.

The prospect of higher oil -- benchmark prices in London traded at a three-month high above $50 a barrel on Monday -- coupled with increased investment in the energy industry will also be a boost to Rouhani, who faces a reelection battle next year when he must convince voters that rapprochement with the West is paying off economically. Brent crude rose 0.4 percent to $51.10 a barrel at 3:02 p.m. in London.

Even if the real test for Rouhanis government would be to persuade international oil companies to invest in the country, the oilfield development accord is evidence of progress, together with rising crude exports. Persia Oil & Gas, theenergy arm of the conglomerate Execution of Imam Khomeinis Order, will develop part of the Yaran, Koupal and Maroon fields near the Iraqi border. The contract is an agreement that sets the framework for a final deal to be signed in five to six months, Zanganeh said.

The International Monetary Fund said Monday that economic conditions in Iran are improving substantially and forecast growth of at least 4.5 percent in 2016-17.

Iran aims to increase exports to 2.35 million barrels a day in coming months from about 2.2 million barrels a day, state news agency Islamic Republic News Agency reported Sunday, citing Mohsen Ghamsari, NIOCs international affairs director.The country has raised export capacity to 4 million barrels a day, NIOCs managing director Ali Kardor said, according to an IRNA report on Monday.

Iran told the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that it wants to produce about 4 million barrels of crude a day to regain its pre-sanctions share of the market, Zanganeh said last week. Iran produced 3.62 million barrels a day in August, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

A previous attempt to reach a freeze agreement in April failed when Saudi Arabia insisted that Iran should participate even without recouping the production levels it lost under international sanctions. Saudi Arabia, OPECs biggest producer, softened its stance in Algiers, with Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih saying that Iran, along with Libya and Nigeria, should be allowed to produce at the maximum levels that make sense.

Irans eventual production cap isnt clear. While OPEC agreed on a new overall range for production, it will set up a committee to decide on output quotas for individual members, before it meets again in Vienna next month.

Iran may already be near its maximum output in the absence of new investment, Jaafar Altaie, managing director at consultants Manaar Energy Group, said by phone from Abu Dhabi. The country needs foreign money and technology to counter the natural decline of its aging fields and to push production capacity much beyond 3.8 million barrels a day, he said.

Paolo Scaroni, theformer chief executive of Italys Eni SpA, said Iran is able to pump as much as 4.1 million to 4.2 million barrels daily. Any increase from there will take time and foreign investment, said Scaroni, who is now a vice chairman at NM Rothschild & Sons Ltd., speaking in a Bloomberg television interview from London on Monday.

The pressure is on NIOC to show they can bring additional barrels to the market, Manaar Energys Altaie said.

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Iran, OPECs Big Winner, Agrees on Landmark Oil Contract ...