Why Iran is unlikely to use oil as political weapon

As the dispute over Iran’s nuclear energy programme intensifies officials have sought to dampen suggestions that the Islamic Republic could curtail oil exports if international sanctions are threatened.

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Any disruption to output and investment plans could be extremely detrimental to the country’s oil sector which is estimated to need $1 billion investment a year just to avoid a decline in current production levels. Iranian oil fields are reported to be depleting by up to 400,000 b/d every year.

Iran’s oil minister Kazem Vazeri-Hamaneh has the task of achieving a 25 per cent increase in oil output to 5.2 million b/d in the next five years. Even this figure would be below the peak 6 million b/d reached before the 1979 revolution.

AME Info