Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.21
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
The World Bank (WB) has lowered its 2015 forecast for crude oil prices from $57 per barrel to $52 per barrel, according to the bank's report.
The revised forecast reflects a further slowing in global economic performance, high current oil inventories, and expectations that Iranian oil exports will rise after the lifting of international sanctions.
This is while the World Bank has lowered the forecasts for oil prices for 2016 from $61 to $51 per barrel.
Energy prices are expected to average 43 percent lower in 2015 than in 2014, according to the WB experts.
Within several months, Iran could potentially reach a pre-sanctions level of 3.6 million barrels per day, according to the report.
In addition, Iran could immediately begin exporting from its 40 million barrels of floating storage of oil, said the WB.
Given that Iran has the largest known gas global reserve (18 percent of the world total), it has the potential to produce and export a significant volume of natural gas over the long term, said the report.
Moreover, the WB experts believe that downside risks in world oil prices include higher-than-expected OPEC production and continuing falling costs along with improved productivity of the US shale oil industry.
"The potential impact of Iranian oil and gas exports on global and regional markets could be large over the long term if Iran can attract the necessary foreign investment and technology to leverage its substantial reserves," said Ayhan Kose, director of the World Bank's Development Prospects Group.
Edited by SI