Iran's Oil Empire Collapses from Within: $82 Billion in Debt

Iran's national oil company has accumulated debts of about $82 billion, more than double the public budget. Sanctions did not stop exports, but the expensive circumvention model deepened the debt and passed the cost to the public through inflation. The figure is based on components the government declared: a budget item, debts to funds, and tax fines. The debt has been deferred annually since 2018, and the accumulated interest adds billions.

Iran's national oil company is buried under a debt of about $82 billion, more than double the public budget. The figure is based on components the government declared: a budget item, debts to funds, and tax fines. The debt has been deferred annually since 2018, and the accumulated interest adds billions. Sanctions did not stop exports, but the expensive circumvention model deepened the debt and passed the cost to the public through inflation. Production returned to about 3.6 million barrels by summer 2024, but oil is sold at a discount of 12-15 percent to small Chinese refineries. A large part of the revenues did not reach Iran: about $7 billion are locked in rupee accounts in Calcutta, billions remained in Chinese banks, and money frozen in South Korea did not reach the company's coffers. The annual interest on the debt is close to $5 billion, three times the contribution of foreign currency to medicines this year ($1.5 billion). The debt is neither collected nor forgiven, and the central bank keeps it on its balance sheet as healthy assets. The money reaches the people in the form of inflation, a tax that takes its largest share from low-income earners. The company was unable to pay even in 'bad' days, and now with bombed fields and besieged exports, repayment is impossible.