TEHRAN, Iran — Amid warnings by some experts of the possibility of a further slump in oil prices in 2016, crude oil prices briefly hit 12-year lows this week, selling for less than $30 per barrel.

With the imminent lifting of Western sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, the oil market is anticipating an inflow of Iranian crude in coming weeks. Amid these anticipations, there are also speculations that the already oversupplied market could see prices drop to as low as $20 due to a potential price war between exporters bent on keeping market share.

Iran is in a relatively good position in terms of oil dependency. For instance, in response to the sanctions, the Iranian government initiated efforts to reduce such dependency by focusing on expanding other sources of revenue. Among these measures was the emphasis on the export of non-oil goods, such as the output of the country’s mining and petrochemical industries, to make up for much needed revenues. These efforts appear to have had effect. On Jan. 5, government spokesman Mohammad-Bagher Nobakht told reporters that the dependency of next year’s budget (March 20, 2016-March 20, 2017) on oil revenues will drop to a new low of under 25% — down from highs of nearly 70% only a decade ago.

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This article was written by Maysam Bizær for Al-Monitor on Jan. 15, 2016. Maysam Bizær is the former editor-in-chief of the Iran Desk at Press TV's website department. He has worked for various local media and has been a contributor to a number of foreign media outlets.