Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Abbas Kazemi described the country’s plans to build new oil and gas condensate refineries despite the sharp decline in global oil prices; “the current stage is transient and the prices will eventually rise.”
Deputy oil minister stressed that the prices of crude oil will soon become realistic in the world market asserting “in the present circumstances, the main cause of the decline in crude prices has been the emergence of alternative energy sources, especially coal.”
“The increase in coal consumption is not environmentally appropriate and Western consumers will soon reject the current condition leading to realistic oil prices,” Kazemi added.
The official stressed that current prices would not represent a good criterion for the real price of oil noting “on the basis of the policies and guidelines of the Leader on avoiding crude retail, the construction of new oil refineries in the country remains justifiable.”
