International Sanctions Hit Iran's Oil And Gas İndustry

International sanctions against Iran, imposed because of its nuclear program, have significantly affected the country's oil and gas industry, a new report shows.



The country's oil production has declined substantially over the past few years, and natural gas production growth has slowed, as well, despite the country's abundant reserves, according to a United States Energy Information Administration report on Iran.



International sanctions have prompted a number of cancellations and delays of upstream projects, resulting in declining oil production capacity, said the report, which was released Tuesday.



The U.S. and the European Union enacted measures at the end of 2011 and during the summer of 2012 that affected the Iranian energy sector more profoundly than any previous sanctions.



In 2011-2012, Iran's oil and natural gas export revenue was $118 billion. In 2012-2013, the country's oil and natural gas export revenue fell to $63 billion -- a drop of 47 percent.



Iran has an estimated 157 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves, representing nearly 10 percent of the world's crude reserves and 13 percent of reserves held by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC. But the oil-rich country dropped from being the second-largest crude oil producer in OPEC to the fourth in 2013 as a result of the international sanctions, the report said. A series of sanctions targeting the oil sector have resulted in cancellations of new projects by a number of foreign companies, while also affecting existing projects, said the report.



However, a plan that was established between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council seems to relieve sanctions somewhat, as Iran agreed to scale back or freeze some of its nuclear activities during the six months of negotiations. From January, when the implementation of plan started, to May 2014, Iran's crude oil and condensate exports averaged 1.4 million barrel per day, roughly 300,000 higher than the 2013 average.  



Some international officials believe Iran has been working to develop nuclear weapons. But Iran says its nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes. 



www.aa.com.tr/en - Ankara