Recent Developments in the Energy Strategy of Iran in the Caspian Region

Abstract

Despite the fact that the production of hydrocarbons in the Caspian Sea basin is not a priority for Iran, Tehran attaches special importance to strengthening economic cooperation with the littoral states. Iran, which was out of a regional discourse for a long time, comes up with initiatives that can shape new approaches towards the regional development in a broad array of issues, including extraction and transportation of hydrocarbon resources. For instance, recent developments have shown that the Iranian authorities clearly acknowledge that the energy factor still has a prevailing influence on both the shaping and implementation of economic and foreign priorities of the Caspian states, the economy of which remains export-oriented. As a result, Iran started to prepare the ground for the joint development of the Caspian offshore deposits and resuming oil swap operations.

Therefore, the main purpose of the paper is to consider Iran’s policy toward the Caspian region highlighting Tehran’s energy strategy towards the Caspian basin and focusing on the exploration activities and prospects of development of offshore fields, as well as energy cooperation with littoral states.