Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 17
By Aygun Badalova - Trend:
There is no base today for oil price to be over $100 per barrel, according to Vagif Sharifov, an oil markets expert, development director at Trend Agency.
Speaking on the "This Week in Focus" episode, Sharifov said that there is strong possibility that the average oil prices during 2015 are going to be no more than $65 per barrel.
"It is bad for the oil companies," the expert believes.
He further said there is no possibility to understand the real price for oil.
"First of all, everything depends on investment and demand," he said. "The real price for oil now is what we can see now."
Speaking about Azerbaijan as a country producing oil, Sharifov said the Azerbaijani government spends oil money very accurately, investing in the non-oil market.
Azerbaijan produced in 2014 some 41.9 million metric tons of oil and gas condensate as compared to 43.1 million metric tons of oil and gas condensate, produced in 2013.
The revenues of Azerbaijan's State Oil Fund (SOFAZ) in 2014 stood at 12,731 million AZN, expenses amounted to 10,117.2 million AZN.
SOFAZ said that as of Jan. 1, 2015, its assets increased by 3.42 percent compared with early 2014 ($35,877.5 million), and stood at $37,104.1 million.
The main purposes of SOFAZ are the accumulation of funds and the placement of these fund's assets abroad to minimize negative impact on the economy, and prevention of the "Dutch disease".
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Aygun Badalova is Trend Agency's staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AygunBadalova
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