ABSTRACT
The Islamic Republic's Oil Stabilization Fund (OSF) has been in existence for a brief period since 2000. In the current Iranian fiscal year Iran's expected oil export income is expected to reach dollar 45 bnon a notional average oil price of $28 per barrel. Iranian development planners in the Islamic Republic, having had their fingers burned twice in 1986 and again in 1997-98 by an oil bust, decided to follow the examples of Kuwait, Oman, Norway and others in establishing an oil reserve fund. Iran's OSF is totally outside of the national budget, and is theoretically run by a seven-member Board of Trustees composed of senior government officials from various ministries under the chairmanship of the head of the Management and Plan Organization. The use of the OSF resources for making up the Treasury's inability to collect rials from tax and non-tax sources is strictly prohibited.
