TEHRAN, Jan. 22 (MNA) Oil Ministry engineering deputy has said Iran would not fear further plummets in oil prices adopting new economic measures.
Seyed Emad Hosseini told reporters during a press conference on Wednesday about the Ministrys most important policies and measures to promote manufacturing of goods and machinery at home by indigenous industries; today, we have achieved self-sufficiency in domestically manufacturing cryogenic pumps,Hosseini added as an example of the ministry-manufacturers cooperation.
Oil minister has issued a new directive which would provide more support for manufacturers of oil industry facilities inside the country; the directive will boost transparency in oil exchanges and tenders as well, he told the press.
A new test electronic system of Oil Ministry facilities and goods will be launched; we predict that the system will be fully operative by the end of the year (March 21); the next step will be creating a comprehensive database of the Ministry goods and facilities, Hosseini added.
Currently, 15-25 per cent of the total amount of these goods and facilities is rotating equipment; rotating equipment is a strategic and high-demand facility in oil, gas, petrochemical, and power plant industries, he said. The Ministry has a 2-year plan to attain full independence in manufacturing 10 groups of high-demand goods in oil industry, added the deputy oil minister.
In response to a question by Mehr News about plunges in oil prices and possible impact on Oil Ministry self-sufficiency policies, Hosseini said that with cuts in oil prices, the predicted plan is to manufacture more goods and equipment at home by resources provided by savings from cuts in imports.
Hosseini believed that indigenously manufacturing goods would save millions of dollars for the economics of oil industry; at current conditions, through comprehensive planning, it is possible to run the country even with further plunges in oil prices, he added, hoping for rise in oil price in the future. Price plummets to even new record lows would provide unique opportunity for the country to live a life without oil incomes, Hosseini maintained.