Iran's Oil Stabilisation Fund Close to $80bn: Zangeneh
Iran's stabilization fund was "something close to $8 billion at this time," Zangeneh said in an interview with **Petroleum Argus** published Monday.
He said that oil prices would "not have a rapid impact" on the country's economy because the mechanism provided by the fund to make up for any shortages in crude revenues.
"I am not worried about this issue in the short term. Because of the fund we have we can compensate," the oil minister said when asked if he had any concerns about lower crude prices.
In his interview, he also revealed that Iran's budget for the fiscal year starting from march 2002 was based on $12.8bn of oil revenue and projected on crude prices being "close to 19 dollars per barrel."
Zangeneh also said that he was not concerned by U.S. President George Bush's latest rhetoric against Iran having any effect on foreign companies investing in the country, saying it was "not a new thing."
"They have said many things like this before. And the Europeans and Asian companies have shown that they do not want to be under the domination of the U.S.," he said.
"We did not have, as you know, difficulty fundraising in previous years. We have done everything we decided to do and now we believe the main losers in this will be the U.S. firms," Iran's minister said.
Zangeneh also referred to the expectation that the contract for phases 9 and 10 of the giant South Pars Gas Field being finalised before the end of the Iranian year next month.
The minister said, confirming that the country, if allowed by OPEC, was still capable of producing 4 million barrel per day (bpd) and that the target of 4.5m bpd had not been changed.
He also confirmed that it remained one of Iran's aims to end wasteful gas flaring by the end of the country's third development plan in 2005.
"At the moment we are flaring about 10 bn cubic meters a year. It is a huge amount and it is very bad for the environment, very bad for our revenues, very bad for everything," Zangeneh said.