Iran's daily crude oil production increased by 400,000 barrels and the figure is expected to rise by another 200,000 barrels shortly, said a deputy oil minister.

Rokneddin Javadi said on Sunday that the shipment of the first oil cargo to Europe after a five-year gap has opened a new chapter in broadening economic cooperation between the two sides, according to IRNA.

Iran has signed a deal with Total of France for daily export of 160,000 to 180,000 barrels of crude oil per day, he said.

Iran has vowed that its production and exports of crude oil will rise to one million barrel per day in two phases once the economic sanctions are lifted.

A number of European oil tankers have shipped crude oil from Iran after removal of economic sanctions.

The Suezmax vessel Distya Akula left Iran's loading terminal at Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf and was located Saturday in the Gulf of Oman off the east coast of the United Arab Emirates, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

Earlier, Javadi, who doubles as the managing director of National Iranian Oil Company, said on Saturday that Iran is planning three initial shipments to Europe carrying four million barrels of oil with two million barrels going to Total and the rest to companies from Spain and Russia.

Total, Spanish refiner Compania Espanola de Petroleos and Russia's Lukoil PJSC all booked cargoes of Iranian crude from Kharg Island to European ports, according to shipping reports compiled by Bloomberg earlier this month.

The vessels included one very large crude carrier — a tanker capable of carrying two million barrels of crude — and two smaller Suezmax-sized vessels with capacity of about one million barrels each.

Total chartered the VLCC Atlantas, Spain's Cepsa booked the Suezmax Monte Toledo and Litasco, Lukoil's trading unit, booked the Distya Akula.

The Atlantas is scheduled to head for European ports, the Monte Toledo for Spain and the Distya Akula for Constantza, Romania, the data show.