Western political and economic pressure on Iran over its nuclear program has chilled foreign investment to the extent that it is now squeezing the countryÂ’s long-fragile energy industry, adding strains to a government that is burdened by sanctions and wary of unrest at home.
The worldÂ’s fourth-largest oil exporter, Iran sits on the second-largest oil and gas reserves. But it has struggled in recent years to keep its oil production, currently running at about four million barrels a day, from falling.
Some analysts say that if this acute imbalance between stagnant production and rising demand at home continues unchecked, Iran will have no oil left over to export within a decade. Its oil exports, totaling $47 billion last year, account for half the governmentÂ’s revenue. |