MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Lifting of the sanctions the West had imposed against Iran in relation to its nuclear program will lead to significant drop in global oil prices, the World Bank said in a press release.
"Iran’s full return to the global market will eventually add about a million barrels of oil a day, lowering oil prices by US$10 per barrel next year, according to the World Bank," the bank said in a Monday press release.
The West had long suspected Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons, and imposed several rounds of sanctions against it. Some restrictions limited the Islamic Republic’s export of its oil products.
On July 14, Iran and the P5+1 group, comprising China, France, Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany, reached an agreement to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the easing of sanctions against the country.
"Just as the tightening of sanctions in 2012 led to a sharp decline in Iran’s oil exports and two years of negative growth, we expect the removal of sanctions to boost exports and revive the economy," Shanta Devarajan, World Bank Chief Economist for the Middle East and North Africa region, said as quoted by the press release.
Due to oversupply in the global market, oil prices have dropped more than twofold against the 2014 summer levels, when the price of Brent crude stood at about $115 per barrel. The prices are now hovering at about $50 per barrel.
