Document Type : Research/Original/Regular Article
Authors
1
university of Shahid motahAssistant Professor, Department of Islamic Jurisprudence and Law, Faculty of Islamic Sciences and Research, Imam Khomeini International University (RA), Qazvin, Iranari
2
Associate Professor, Department of Islamic Economics, Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Qom, Qom, Iran
10.22106/jlj.2025.2071013.6383
Abstract
The transformations brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the emergence of novel technologies such as blockchain have also affected the oil and gas industry. Among these innovations, smart contracts as one of the key applications of blockchain, possess the capacity to overcome many of the traditional challenges in this sector, including administrative corruption, institutional inefficiency, payment delays, and lack of transparency. This study, adopting a legal–institutional approach and employing a descriptive–analytical method, examines the legal, economic, and practical dimensions of smart contracts in Iran’s oil and gas industry. The findings indicate that, by virtue of their characteristics such as self-execution, immutability, and transparency, smart contracts can reduce transaction costs, strengthen trust between contracting parties, and create a favorable environment for attracting foreign investment. However, the absence of clear legislative frameworks, ambiguity in the allocation of liabilities, and weaknesses in technical and institutional infrastructures remain the main obstacles to their implementation. The principal innovation of this article lies in proposing a step-by-step framework for the design and deployment of smart contracts tailored to the specific structure of Iran’s oil industry, alongside a comparative analysis of international standards and the experiences of pioneering countries especially Norway and the United Arab Emirates. This framework can serve as a practical guide for policymakers, legislators, and oil companies.
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