Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov.16/ Trend G.Mehdi/
Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has said the era of cheap oil has ended, predicting that oil prices will further increase.
In an interview with the Mehr News Agency, he expressed satisfaction over the current prices of $100-108 per barrel, adding that the prices will go on rising in the near future.
In July, Qasemi announced that no longer there is a need for an emergency meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries as oil prices jump over 100 dollars a barrel.
He also said the current price of oil is fair.
In October, Qasemi threatened Iran may stop oil exports if the West tightens sanctions against Tehran.
Qasemi said Iran had a Plan B contingency strategy to survive without oil revenues.
"We have prepared a plan to run the country without any oil revenues," Qasemi said. "So far to date we haven't had any serious problems, but if the sanctions were to be renewed we would go for Plan B.
The minister added the loss of Iranian oil on the market would drive oil prices up.
Iranian oil output rose in October after seven months of decline due to Western sanctions and its exports rebounded strongly as China and South Korea bought more oil, according to the International Energy Agency.
The IEA said Iranian oil output rose by around 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 2.7 million bpd in October. Iranian exports jumped to 1.3 million bpd from 1.0 million seen in the two previous months.