Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 5 / Trend , A.Badalova /
Iran will fail to develop production capacity in the oil sector without the assistance of foreign countries, the U.S. Energy Information Agency reported. The U.S. sanction on Iran restricted foreign investment in the country.
"Iran plans to increase oil production capacity to over 4.5 million bbl/d by 2010 and 5 million bbl/d after 2015, but foreign assistance will likely be necessary," the EIA report Iran Country Analysis Brief says.
Iran after the Saudi Arabia is the second largest oil refining country within the OPEC and fourth due to exported oil volume.
As of January 2009, Iran has an estimated 136.2 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, or roughly 10 percent of the world's total proven petroleum.
Iran has 40 producing fields, 27 onshore and 13 offshore, with the majority of crude oil reserves located in the southwestern Khuzestan region near the Iraqi border. Iran's crude oil is generally medium in sulfur content and in the 28°-35° API range.
Iran has limited refinery capacity for the production of light fuels, and consequently imports much of its gasoline supply. Iranian domestic oil demand is mainly for gasoline and diesel.
Iran's total refinery capacity in 2008 was about 1.5 million bbl/d. Iran plans to increase refining capacity to around 3 million bbl/d by 2012.