Iran's market is mostly oriented towards energy-thirsty countries in Asia, East Asia and the Middle East who are reluctant to face sanctions for transacting with Iran; for example, India and Pakistan, two major buyers of Iranian crude oil, import a relatively small number of barrels from Iran and usually fail to fulfill their agreed obligations for paying for their purchases which they say is because of the limitations in their banking systems.

The oil and gas supplied from unconventional reserves by countries like the US and Canada cause another headache for Iran's crude supply. Supposing that the overall production costs are at most 60 dollars for every oil barrel, the current fluctuations in the market and the fall of prices to lower than $80 are expected to exert serious challenges for unconventional suppliers, making it economically unjustifiable for them to produce tackle unconventional reserves which will open up the path for the flow of conventional supplies in the market where Iran, as well as other OPEC members, will find more room for market activity.

The pricing of oil at over 100 dollars a barrel can pose dangers for OPEC in the market if it is not properly contained by its  cooperative members. 

(Written by Jafar Pour-Farjoudi; Edited by Hamid-Reza Zahedi)