Future oil and gas: Can Iran deliver?

Iran's oil and gas production and exports constitute the country's main source of foreign exchange earnings. The future level of these earnings will depend on oil prices, global demand for Iranian exports, the country's productive capability and domestic consumption. The size of Iranian oil reserves suggests that, in principle, present productive capacity could be maintained and expanded. However, the greatest share of production in coming years still will come from fields that already have produced for several decades. In spite of significant remaining reserves, these fields are not nearly as prolific as they were in their early years. The operations required for further development are now more complicated and, in particular, more costly. These fields' size also implies that improving production, and instituting secondary and tertiary recovery methods (such as gas injection), will require mega-scale operations. This article discusses future oil and gas export revenues from the Islamic Republic of Iran, emphasizing the country's future production and commenting on the effects of proposed US sanctions