Iran’s oil and gas sector will be the first to open up to foreign investment, generating the much needed cash to fund other infrastructure projects, according to a panel of Iranian experts
Iran’s economy is set to open to the world for the first time in decades early next year when sanctions against the country will be lifted following June’s nuclear accord with world powers including the USA, Gulf News reported.
“The country needs cash and cash will only come from oil and gas,” Naveed Ahmad Jeddy, partner at Ernst & Young in Bahrain, said.
Iran has the second-largest proved gas reserves and fourth-largest crude reserves, which are expected to generate substantial revenue once sanctions are removed despite the current period of sustained low energy prices.
But with the focus on the country’s oil and gas sector, other heavy investment projects such as information technology, infrastructure, airports and roads will have to wait until the government has raised enough finances.
Nader Ghadessi, member of the Iranian Business Council in Dubai, added, “The opportunities are going to be higher than any other country in the Middle East. It will be the second-largest economy in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia.”
Reports suggest that Iran’s economy is already the region’s second biggest and worth US$415bn in 2015.
