TEHRAN - Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said that oil is priced too low at 115 dollars a barrel, adding that the commodity “should find its real value”.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the 13th Oil, Gas, and Petrochemicals Exhibition in Tehran, the president added, “Oil at 115 dollars a barrel in today’s market is a deceiving figure. Oil is a strategic commodity and should find its real value.”
Oil should not be a political tool in the hands of those who are inimical toward the oil-rich nations, stressed the president. He accused Western industrialized nations of “selfishness” in their quest for cheaper oil. “When they get hold of oil, they assume that oil is a free commodity and belongs to them and has wrongly been placed in other territories. This is the spirit of selfishness and arrogance,” he observed.
Nations should employ their possessions to promote peace, progress, and brotherhood in fair cooperation, he noted.
Iran’s oil industry benefits from experienced and committed experts and has the capacity to fulfill all its requirements, he said, adding the country has attained significant achievements despite global sanctions.
Ahmadinejad said despite high oil prices, the true value of crude oil, adjusted for inflation, is currently less than what it was in 1980.
“While the prices of other commodities have increased, the economic value of the current oil price is even less than it was in 1980,” he said.
Oil revenue has become an important bankroll for Iran’s economy and industry, he added.
Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari on Wednesday rejected calls from crude oil consuming countries for the OPEC cartel to act to lower oil prices that have reached record highs.
On Friday, New York’s main oil, light sweet crude for delivery in May, surged 1.83 dollars higher to a record close of 116.69 dollars a barrel. It had earlier hit an intraday all-time peak of 117 dollars