Iran Returns to Global Energy Market: Issues and Prospects. (March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pant, Girijesh
• Is Part Of: Contemporary review of the Middle East. Volume 3:Number 1(2016:Mar.)
• Page Start: 23
• Page End: 35
• Publication Date: 2016-03
• Subjects: Iran -- OPEC -- global energy market -- energy-geopolitics -- JCPOA; Middle East -- Periodicals; 956.005
• DOI: 10.1177/2347798916633290
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2347-7989

Abstract

Iran is set to join the global energy market with the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in July 2015. However, the new geography of energy is changing the power dynamics in global energy market taking away the leverage from the traditionally dominant Middle East. Moreover, OPEC envisages severe loss to its share in the global energy market by 2020 and the intra-regional conflicts are further fuelling uncertainties and radicalization. Nevertheless, hydrocarbon will continue to be the principal component of global energy mix and Iran, which has the fourth largest reserves of oil and the second largest deposits of natural gas, will remain an important player but it will require a huge investment and technological support from the external suppliers to monetize its energy assets. Thus, a new script is going to be framed, that of energy-geopolitics equation, but, ironically, Iran will not be its lead author.