An Investigation of Jurisprudential Aspects of Technical and Economic Requirements of Conservation in Production from Iranian Oil Reservoirs

Article forty-fifth of the Iranian constitution considers the mines including oil and gas as a part of the Anfal and public wealth. Conservation is one of the most important subjects in production of oil. The study of how to finance the government expenditure is one of the subject matters of Islamic economics. According to Islamic teachings, Anfal is regarded as a main source of funding for the government expenditures. Based on jurisprudential rules like “the rule of Itlaf (indirect cause)”, “the rule of Tasbib (direct cause)”, the Rule of La Darar (denegation of harmfulness)", and “the rule of Nafye Sabil (Rejection of Foreign Influence)”, each "Gheyre-syanti" (Non-conservation) method of production from oil reservoirs which leads to the loss of oil resources and accelerates the exhaustion of the country's oil reserves and results in the dependence on foreigners is not allowed. Efficiency in extraction from oil fields, development of oil reservoirs in line with the Muslim society’s consolidation and satisfaction of its real needs, generational and intergenerational equity, referring to the intellectuals and assigning the technical tasks to the professionals are among Islamic criteria which affect the necessity of oil exploitation and its mode of operation.