Iran is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) number-two crude oil producer, and is also pinning major hopes on its gas reserves, estimated to be the second-largest proven reserves in the world after Russia.  However, as noted in this recent Middle East Times article, Iran’s sacked oil minister issued a parting warning to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, predicting a looming “catastrophe” in the Iranian energy sector because of high consumption and under-investment in its oil fields.

“If we do not find a solution to the energy problem in the next 15 years, the country will face a catastrophe,” Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh was quoted as saying at his farewell ceremony late Saturday by the ISNA student news agency.

… an influential research center of parliament also sounded a downbeat note on the future of Iran’s gas industry, saying that exports would not be possible in the next 10 years, given the scale of domestic consumption.

“It seems that, for at least the next 10 years, there will not be any extra gas for export. Iran is advised to remove gas export from the country’s policy due to the limited production capacity,” it said.

Turkey is currently the only recipient of Iranian gas exports, receiving several billion cubic meters annually.

But Iran is seeking to export large quantities of gas to Turkey and other countries in the Middle East, as well as to India and Pakistan through new pipelines.”