TEHRAN, Iran, May 1
Trend:
Iran will possibly review the crude oil sale forecast for the current Iranian year (started March 20, 2020) due to global oil price crash, Ezatollah Yusefian Molla, a member of parliament's budget committee said, Trend reports citing IRNA.
"There is a possibility that this issue will be discussed at the parliament in the coming weeks," MP noted adding that, however, reduction of oil price predicted in the budget plan is not on the parliament's agenda.
"The price of oil will increase, but it's too soon at the moment to discuss it. One of the solutions for the government to compensate budget deficit caused by the oil price drop is to reconsider the budget construction sector," he said.
"In the current situation, there are good sales in gas and gas condensates sector; according to the oil minister, any problems in the area will be addressed," MP added. "The price of oil will improve and increase after the coronavirus crisis, but we should wait for a few months."
So far, the parliament has not taken any specific steps to reduce estimated oil sale volumes in the current Iranian year.
"The MPs shall discuss the issue, as the price for crude oil will not reach $50 per barrel due to the situation in the global oil market," said Kourosh Karampour Haghighi, member of parliament's energy committee.
"The price of oil in the budget plan should be reviewed according to global and regional realities," he said.
Despite the US sanctions against Iran, the country has predicted oil sale price at $50 per barrel in the budget that was even considered a low figure by some experts. Meanwhile, against the backdrop of the coronavirus spread and a 30-percent drop in oil demand, the global prices have plummeted and stand $15 per barrel now.
Experts believe there is a possibility that the country would revise the budget to prevent deficit.