Iran dispute can push oil to $130 a barrel

Not a drop of oil from Iran reaches the nation's gas pumps. But escalating tensions about Iran's nuclear program are already being felt in oil and gas prices in the United States.

That's because even though the United States has banned oil imports from Iran since the 1979 Iranian revolution, some 4 million barrels of Iranian crude are shipped around the world each day, accounting for about 5 percent of global supply. That has an effect on prices everywhere, no matter how much or how little Iranian oil reaches U.S. refineries.

And the growing dispute over Iran's nuclear program is one key reason oil prices have jumped since late December back near $65 a barrel.

Some experts say oil would be closer to $60 a barrel absent worries about possible broader sanctions against Iran, and at least one analyst says oil could shoot to more than $130 a barrel, if Iranian oil stopped flowing altogether.

Fortunately for world oil markets, most experts see little chance of a complete shutdown of Iranian oil due to the dispute over its nuclear program.

Right now Iranian government and oil officials are vowing to keep oil flowing no matter what action the U.N. takes against the country's nuclear program.

On the other hand, some kind of resolution of the Iranian nuclear dispute could cause a swift and sharp drop in the price of oil.

A number of experts estimate that about 10 percent of current pricing, or about $6.50 a barrel, is due to jitters over Iran.

CNN