Ilham Shaban: "If oil price does not rise to $60 per barrel by early 2010, Azerbaijan will also feel how fast the reserves of the Oil Fund are washing away"

Oil price continues dropping on the world market. In the result an oil barrel is $100 cheaper than in July, said Ilham Shaban, head of the center of oil studies, speaking of the influence of the world economic crisis on Azerbaijan.

He said goods and services are also declining in price. Perhaps, it is normal, but there is a problem. This drop does not lead to "stability" and "happiness" for consumers. The reason, he said, is a decline of the overall world economy: shutdown of millions of jobs throughout the world, decline in the purchasing capacity and growth of political and military tensions throughout the world. Such cheap oil, according to him, rules out any intentions to save energy sources and destabilizes the situation in the countries, depending on oil export, raiosing the possibility of the rise in price and the high degree changes in the market conjuncture of the oil market in the future.

"Moreover, low prices on oil lead to reduction in investments in the alternative energy sources, thus, deepening the world dependence on oil and other hydrocarbons. Therefore, fair price on oil will be set not tomorrow- in order to reach this level (today the international financial institutions and organizations call a price corridor for Brent oil to be $70-75) the world will pass many stages to improve economy and lift the overall tensions in the relations of the countries that are holding an antagonistic policy against each others", said Shaban.

He said despite the strengthened measures of security of the government (information, administrative), the crisis affected Azerbaijan and the first symptoms of the crisis showed that in the long-term perspective even the state security belt - oil dollars- can not avert the deterioration of the overall economic state (for example, Putin's government also hoped for gold reserves, however, after losing about $150 bln, it recognized in public that 2009 will be the hardest one for Russia's economy).

"If oil price does not rise to $60 per barrel by early 2010, Azerbaijan will also feel how fast the reserves of the Oil Fund are washing away", said Shaban.