Iran is set to supply 50 per cent more condensate to Chinese state trader Zhuhai Zhenrong Corp under a renewed one-year supply contract for the light crude, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The deal for the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to ship 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate from August was made before the framework agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear programmes in exchange for ultimately dropping sanctions.

China is Iran’s largest oil client and the renewed contract could lift its overall crude imports from the Islamic republic to above 600,000 bpd later this year, higher than the average pre-sanction rate of about 555,000 bpd.

Iran, once Opec’s second-largest exporter, is expected to try to sell more oil to Asian consumers such as China and India before a final nuclear deal due in June, which Tehran hopes will lift Western sanctions that have curbed its oil exports by more than half and crippled its economy.

The accord with six world powers could eventually allow Tehran to reclaim lost ground in global oil markets, but that is likely to occur only from 2016 given the time needed to verify Iran is complying with the restrictions to its nuclear activities.