Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 6 / Trend, S. Isayev
Iran's oil industry is in need of hundreds of billions of dollars investment, professor of economics at U.S. Northeastern University, Kamran Dadkhah told Trend.
Dadkhah was commenting on the current state of Iran's oil and gas sphere and its prospects under new government of Iran.
"Iranian oil industry is in deep trouble. Since the revolution the oil industry has been mismanaged. In addition, sanctions have literally crippled this sector," Dadkhah underscored.
He went on to note that oil production and export have fallen dramatically.
"In addition, Iran has been unable to ully utilize its oil revenues," Dadkhah said. "In addition, the technology and equipment utilized for extraction from and maintenance of oil fields are obsolete."
He further said that Iran's oil industry needs modern technology and equipment, while only giant international oil companies can provide the needed capital and technology.
The expert underscored that Iran's gas industry is pretty much in the same situation.
"While Iran's neighbors have been very active in producing gas in the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea, Iran has lagged behind," he said. "This is particularly evident in the gas field in the Persian Gulf jointly owned by Iran and Qatar."
Iran holds the world's third-largest proven oil reserves and the second-largest natural gas reserves, and plans to use foreign companies for various oil and gas related projects.