Iran's great opening
Iran's risks lie above the ground. Below it, a wealth of opportunity awaits careful investors
Iran's oil and gas upstream is a veritable Aladdin's cave of treasures. Like all fairy tales, of course, it comes with villains, both inside and out, and like many oil-rich peers, it has fallen well short of realising its potential. On official figures, Iran has the world's largest gas reserves, 1,183 trillion cubic feet, and, at 158.4bn barrels, the second-largest conventional oil reserves behind only Saudi Arabia (even if Canada's and Venezuela's extra-heavy oil takes them ahead). Even if these figures, particularly the oil, are somewhat exaggerated, they suggest Iran could be the largest holder of hydrocarbons on the planet. But production, though large, is not commensurate with reserves.
Also in this section
3 May 2024
Upcoming elections are likely to deliver a win for the party of president Andres Lopez Obrador, but analysts differ over to what degree his successor will stick to his energy policies
2 May 2024
Faster-than-expected economic growth fails to mask macro imbalances and shifting structural oil product trends
1 May 2024
Energean CEO Mathios Rigas looks to results of critical Anchois appraisal well
30 April 2024
While its regional neighbours reap the rewards of oil and gas success, Iraq’s hydrocarbons sector is lagging behind