Iran Press/Iran news: Speaking at a meeting of the parliament’s energy commission on Tuesday, Bijan Zangeneh said: "Although Iran’s budget is the least tied to oil among OPEC member states, we are in good condition compared to neighboring countries.”
According to Iran Press, Zangeneh said the government has envisaged the price of each barrel of oil to be $54, for the purpose of next year's national budget bill.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Iran’s oil minister express dissatisfaction about Qatar’s decision to withdraw from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and said the reasons for this decision should be examined.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Iran’s representative to OPEC said unilateral decisions taken by OPEC Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee -- led by Russia and Saudi Arabia-- pushed Qatar to withdraw from the organization.
On Monday, Qatar announced its withdrawal from OPEC from January 2019.
Related News;
Commentary: Qatar pulls out of OPEC, reasons and consequences
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday presented a $47 billion budget for the next Iranian year, which starts on 21 March 2019.
The draft budget has to be passed by parliament and approved by a clerical body that vets legislation before it becomes law.
President Rouhani called for trimming the state sector and curbing the government’s dependence on oil income, which is forecast at 1,425 trillion rials ($21 billion) in the proposed budget.
“If the private sector was active in the country ..., and if the budget did not rely so heavily on oil, the impact of sanctions would have been much less,” Rouhani said.
Meanwhile, the head of Planning and Budget Organization Mohammad Bagher Nobakht said next year’s oil revenues are predicted to drop by 28%.
Nobakht noted that the budget bill has taken the impact of sanctions into account, adding that for this reason, next year’s oil exports have been predicted to drop from 2.4 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) to 1.5 million bpd.
The administration of US President Donald Trump recently announced the re-imposition of sanctions against Iran's oil exports, shipping and banking. The sanctions had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). 101/211
Read More:
Rouhani: Iranian oil exports improved after 4 November
Iranian MP: US sanctions won't stop us selling oil to Europeans, China, India, Korea
