Image via WikipediaAs Iran seeks to establish its supremacy in Iraq, its ancient enemy, the countries are also clashing in OPEC where Iraq's re-emergence as a leading oil producer seems likely to upset the balance of power in the cartel. Given the political turmoil inside Iraq as it struggles to form a coalition government seven months after an inconclusive parliamentary election produced no clear-cut winners, this energy rivalry could yet have geopolitical consequences that could threaten regional stability.Saudi Arabia, the world's largest producer, holds a seemingly unassailable dominance within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
But the rivalry between Iran and Iraq is who will hold the No. 2 slot in terms of production capacity.
Iraq, after signing 20-year production contracts with a host of international oil companies in 2009 to boost its laggardly output, announced Oct. 4 that it upgraded its oil reserves from 115 billion barrels to 143.1 billion.
That was a 24 percent hike, which vaulted Iraq over Iran in the reserves standings and put it behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela in terms of conventional oil reserves.
A week later, Tehran responded by boosting Iran's reserves from 138 billion barrels to 150.3 billion, a 9 percent increase, and said the figure was likely to go up again before the end of the Iranian year in March 2011.
That put Iran back up there as the No. 2 producer after Saudi Arabia.
Iran's current output, despite U.S., U.N. and EU sanctions, is pegged at 3.7 million barrels per day while Iraq's stands at around 2.4 million bpd.
It is production levels that determine OPEC's pecking order rather than reserves, although Iraq is believed to have as much as another 100 billion barrels oil in untapped reservoirs.
Iran is unlikely to be able to improve its production rate, largely because the international sanctions prohibit foreign investment in the Islamic Republic's energy sector, mainstay of its economy.http://www.energy-daily.com/reports/Iraq_Iran_face_off_in_oil_power_struggle_999.html
No comments:
Post a Comment