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Iran’s First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri said country’s revenue from selling oil and gas has fell below $50 billion in the last Iranian-calendar year (which ended March 20).

He pointed out that Iran's oil and gas revenue had been $118 billion in the Iranian year 1390 (which ended in March 2012).

The Iranian official stressed that with a population of around 80 million, Iran should become an important industrial hub in the region, SHANA reported.

Pointing out that oil and gas are indicators of development in Iran, Jahangiri said the country could bring about major changes in the regional market through its economic development.

Predictions are for Iran’s oil income to be halved to $24 billion in the current Iranian fiscal year, nearly half that of the past year’s income, Alireza Saleh, the deputy director of the Management and Planning Organization of Iran, stated May 29.

Despite a slight rise in the OPEC member’s oil exports in the wake of the nuclear agreement, the country’s oil revenues have fallen sharply because oil prices have dropped significantly since last summer.

Last June, OPEC basket price was about $108, but on May 27 it was traded at slightly above $60. Last winter, OPEC basket prices even dropped to $40.

Iran used to export 2.5 million barrels of oil per day before the imposition of Western sanctions. According to OPEC reports, Iran’s oil income was about $115 billion in 2011, but it plunged to about $61 billion in 2013 after the country’s exports dropped to one million barrels per day.

Statistics of the Central Bank of Iran also show that the country’s oil income was above $118 billion in Iranian fiscal year 1390 (March 2011-March 2012). The country’s oil income fell to $68 billion next year and to $65 billion two years later.

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