Proved Oil reserves in Iran, according to its government, rank third largest in the world at approximately 150 billion barrels (24×109 m3) as of 2007, although it ranks second if Canadian reserves of unconventional oil are excluded. This is roughly 10% of the world's total proven petroleum reserves. Iran is the world's fourth largest oil producer and is OPEC's second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia. As of 2009 it was producing an estimated 4.172 million barrels per day (663.3×103 m3/d) of crude oil. At 2006 rates of production, Iran's oil reserves would last 98 years if no new oil was found.
Iran has more than a century of history in exploration and production activities; the first successful exploration well was Masjid Suleiman-1 on May 26, 1908. Since then, based on the latest oil and gas reports, 145 hydrocarbon fields and 297 oil and gas reservoirs have been discovered in Iran, with many fields having multiple pay zones. A total of 102 fields are oil and the remaining 43 are gas, and there are 205 oil reservoirs and 92 natural gas reservoirs. According to Iran Energy Balance Sheet (2009, in Persian), 78 of these fields are currently active, with 62 onshore and 16 offshore, leaving 67 fields inactive at present. Some 23 hydrocarbon fields lie in border areas and are shared between Iran and adjacent countries, including Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkmenistan .
Iranian production peaked at 6 million barrels per day (950×103 m3/d) in 1974, but it has been unable to produce at that rate since the 1979 Iranian Revolution due to a combination of political unrest, war with Iraq, limited investment, US sanctions, and a high rate of natural decline. Iran's mature oil fields are in need of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques such as gas injection to maintain production, which is declining at an annual rate of approximately 8% onshore and 10% offshore. With current technology it is only possible to extract 20% to 25% of the oil in place from Iran’s fractured carbonate reservoirs, 10% less than the world average. It is estimated that 400,000-700,000 bbl/d of crude production is lost annually due to declines in the mature oil fields.
Iran consumed 1.6 million barrels per day (250×103 m3/d) of its own oil as of 2006. Domestic consumption is high due to a growing population and large government subsidies on gasoline, which reduces the amount of oil available for export. Due to a lack of refinery capacity, Iran was the second biggest gasoline importer in the world after the United States. But after the government lowered the fuel subsidies and increased the refining capacity, the import of gasoline has almost stopped. High oil prices in recent years have enabled Iran to amass nearly $60 billion in foreign exchange reserves, but have not helped solve economic problems such as high unemployment and inflation.
According to NIOC, Iran recoverable liquid hydrocarbon reserves at the end of 2006 was 138,4 billion barrels.
Apart from these considerable reserves, from the outset of oil industry in Iran in 1908 to the end of 2007, Iran produced some 61 billion barrels of oil.
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