Iran's energy sector review

  While sovereign wealth funds tied to oil revenues in Iran’s neighboring countries have surpassed $3.6 trillion, a new report by the Iranian Parliament Research Center reveals the extensive depletion and misuse of Iran’s National Development Fund (NDF). According to data from the Parliament Research Center, between the establishment of the National Development Fund (NDF) in 2011 and March 2024, about 82% of its $161 billion in revenue has been spent. Notably, 88% of the loans disbursed by the fund went to the government and public institutions, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In effect, a fund intended as a savings mechanism for oil revenues has instead served as a financial lifeline for inefficient state entities. Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Subscribed Of the $132 billion in loans disbursed over the past 13 years, only $8 billion has been repaid, while $18 billion is past due and classified as non-perfor...

 A s nuclear talks resume and threats from the US and Israel continue, Iran’s atomic chief claims the country’s electricity shortages will be solved by building new nuclear power plants. Nuclear power currently accounts for just one percent of Iran’s electricity generation. To make up for the country’s 25,000-megawatt shortfall, Iran would need to build 25 nuclear plants the size of Bushehr—which took 25 years to complete, even with Russian assistance. Since its launch in 2011, the Bushehr nuclear plant has produced just 70 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity—worth less than $6 billion on regional markets. This modest output contrasts sharply with Iran’s extensive uranium enrichment program, which has been justified as necessary for nuclear power generation but has contributed to at least $2 trillion in direct economic losses from sanctions since 2012. The Islamic Republic has repeatedly announced plans to develop 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power capacity, but progress has been mi...